How Popular is Ward?

[ShoulderRoll]

IMO... still comes down to the traveling.
Most of the big SMW names are overseas. so does he go over or, if he goes to Arum, bring them somewhere stateside?

Why is it that fighters like, say, Ricky Burns can spend all their time fighting in their backyard and get a pass on traveling? But not Andre?

Ward could do the same and just have title defense after title defense in Oakland where he does sell well. Make a career out of it like Tony "The Tiger" Lopez did in Sacramento.

In any case I'm sure if Arum got a hold of him he'd find a way to build his name and showcase him in Las Vegas or elsewhere.

[Hougigo]

Why is it that fighters like, say, Ricky Burns can spend all their time fighting in their backyard and get a pass on traveling? But not Andre?

Ward could do the same and just have title defense after title defense in Oakland where he does sell well. Make a career out of it like Tony "The Tiger" Lopez did in Sacramento.

In any case I'm sure if Arum got a hold of him he'd find a way to build his name and showcase him in Las Vegas or elsewhere.

We give them a pass?
I acknowledge the most money to be made is there, still sucks though

[Sweet Pea 50]

Why is it that fighters like, say, Ricky Burns can spend all their time fighting in their backyard and get a pass on traveling? But not Andre?

Ward could do the same and just have title defense after title defense in Oakland where he does sell well. Make a career out of it like Tony "The Tiger" Lopez did in Sacramento.
In any case I'm sure if Arum got a hold of him he'd find a way to build his name and showcase him in Las Vegas or elsewhere.

Nice Lopez reference.

I was at old ARCO arena for Lopez vs Lockridge 1. It was absolutely insane. Tony always packed that place out.

[ladiesman217]

ontario california is a seven hour drive from oakland. it's almost 1000KM, for the perspective of you english guys. you need to get a hotel room if you want to go there from oakland. some states are f#cking big, dog. that wasn't a fight in his hometown for sure.


he can sell around 10,000 tickets at the oracle arena in oakland.


ward's very popular on HBO. his ratings are always good. they're also clearly banking on him being one of the driving forces for american boxing when mayweather retires, whether that's appropriate or not.

Hey man, they use miles in England, too.

IMO... still comes down to the traveling.
Most of the big SMW names are overseas. so does he go over or, if he goes to Arum, bring them somewhere stateside?

If he goes to LHW, won't be as bad as Canada is just north with Bute, Stevenson and Pascal. Kovalev fights in the states and Hopkins is a non-factor because of the whole friend thing.
Other than that...nothing really going on at LHW

I'd like to see Ward fight in a hostile venue. The guy has had one fight outside of California since becoming a world champ and it was against a Brit in Atlantic City, so that takes away any "hostility." He hasn't been a road warrior like the top guys he faced. I know he has all the talent in the world to beat great fighters in their hometowns. I want to see him fight Stevenson/Bute/Pascal in Quebec and/or Hopkins in Philly.

[deanrw]

Heard he can't even sell out his home venues. Was reading on twitter that local gyms were handing out tickets to the event.
Also what're his viewership like?

Saw somebody talking about Mike McCallum and how he had to be a traveling champ.... if Ward can't bring in the views and the people, will he have to do that?
Or is it just the case of his promoter and things get better when he goes to Arum?

That was me comparing his popularity to McCallum. It is true though. Ward wants to be a PPV star, but in order to become one you need star quality. He does not have it. He has all the physical tools, but does not have the IT factor. McCallum even had a more pleasing style, but always had to be the B-side in big fights. He made real money when traveling to fight.

The Issue with Ward is he is now willing to be a B-side, but only in PPV's. The issue is he is also demanding and wants things his way. Who will give that to him when there is so much risk involved in fighting him period? Bob will not setup a PPV and risk losing one of his cash cows unless there is huge money. There is no huge money in fighting ward. Bob would know there is a much better chance of making big money against Froch than Ward and will at least believe that Jr. would have an outside chance 10% of beating Froch. Better than the 0% chance of beating Ward.

[aaron.king]

It's a strange thing -- I get the sense that Ward has a pretty substantial and loyal hometown following, puts up pretty decent HBO numbers, and is as widely respected as any fighter in the US (if not the world). And yet, there is constantly this question.

In terms of the boxing community, insular as it is, he is very popular. The issue is that he has virtually no "crossover" popularity. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal -- only a handful of fighters have that kind of popularity and it isn't always tied to their ring performance (e.g. ethnic/national followings for guys like Hatton, Canelo, Cotto, etc. Not that they aren't or weren't excellent, but you get my point). How much crossover popularity does Hopkins have outside of Philly? What about Martinez, Mares, Rigo, or Donaire? Hell, Pernell Whitaker was plagued by questions about his popularity similar to those Ward now faces. He's a great fighter in a niche sport. To use one of my least favorite sayings ever, it is what it is.

[.:: JSFD26 ::.]

Lets see if HBO releases his numbers


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[ShoulderRoll]

We give them a pass?

Yes.

I don't see thread after thread on NSB calling out Burns for not traveling. Do you?

And that's just one example. Jean Pascal fights almost exclusively in Quebec and no one says anything. That's obviously where the money is for him and more power to him for getting paid, but why are they allowed to do this while Ward is held to a different standard?

Is it just because he is American?

[BostonGuy]

If Andre Ward wanted to really build a fanbase then he could easily fight 3-4 times a year; 1 or 2 times isn't cutting it

Look at Golovkin, the guy is racking up win-after-win (and looking good at it) and has generated a huge following in the states even though he's European and speaks English as his second language. It's easy to like and follow Golovkin, the guy's in the ring every 3-4 months

[Hougigo]

Yes.

I don't see thread after thread on NSB calling out Burns for not traveling. Do you?

And that's just one example. Jean Pascal fights almost exclusively in Quebec and no one says anything. That's obviously where the money is for him and more power to him for getting paid, but why are they allowed to do this while Ward is held to a different standard?

Is it just because he is American?

Pascal has become a non-factor the past couple of years. I forgot he fought this year.
As for Burns, people only ever criticize him around fight time, especially after the Beltran fight and possible Crawford fight. Died down because people just stopped caring.