Joe Calzaghe moved up and fought the light HW champion - why can't Andre Ward?

[Spray_resistant]

Not everyone is going to weight class jump, you may have to consider the possibility that some fighters feel comfortable performing in the weight class they are in and may never move up.

[boliodogs]

Why does Ward have to do what Joe did? Joe stayed at 168 for many years and only went to 175 just before he retired.That means for Ward to do the same exact thing that Joe did doesn't need to go to 175 until about 6 years from now. As long as Ward fights the best 168 pounders I don't see why he has to fight above his true weight class .Hagler fought at middleweight from his first pro fight at age 18 until his retirement at age 34 and everybody considers him an all time great. Why isn't what's good enough for Hagler good enough for Ward.

[junior gong]

Why should Ward move up, I mean there is so much left to do at SMW.......oh, hold on...

[PurePugilist216]

Half of Ward's best competition are dudes that Calzaghe already beat. Ward hasn't done schit to earn the praise he gets imo. Is he good? Sure. Is he better than Calzaghe? Joe has almost as many SMW title defenses as Ward has wins.......let's get real about it.

You can’t be serious. Ward spanked Kessler. Kessler gave Joe a good fight. Ward entered a tourney with great young prime fighters in it, that saids something about him, Calzaghe would never enter that tourney. Ward won, and is still winning. You really want to bring up Joe’s defenses? How many of those fighters were in the top 10 in their division?

Ward to most, has a better record than Calzaghe, and he is still in the prime of his career. The fact comparison threads already exist should say something about a guy who not only retired, but retired undefeated. Ward so far, has not taken an easy fight like Joe did for a majority of his career.

If you like Calzaghe, thats fine, but don’t be delusional.

Ward will move up soon, and the rest of his career will be at 175, not two fights like Joe.

[Drunk Punch]

Ward is good enough to fight in both divisions simultaneously. The money is at 175 so why not hop over the border, whup Pascal, Stevenson and Bute, then come back and whup old man Bhop and then, finally... when all those pay days added up have made him a very rich man - he can fight a risky guy like Kovalev and/or GGG. And retire.

[PurePugilist216]

Ward is good enough to fight in both divisions simultaneously. The money is at 175 so why not hop over the border, whup Pascal, Stevenson and Bute, then come back and whup old man Bhop and then, finally... when all those pay days added up have made him a very rich man - he can fight a risky guy like Kovalev and/or GGG. And retire.

He will move up soon, and I can’t see him being at 168 for more than this year. He just came off a bad injury and spanked a good young fight.

[IMDAZED]

But a lot of people are saying Ward has already done more than Calzaghe.

And a lot of other fighters moved up in weight when they were Wards age: Roy Jones, James Toney, Billy Conn, etc.

160 to 175 is a bigger jump than 168 to 175. And let's not forget, Ward fought at light heavyweight in the amateurs.

A lot of other fighters moved up at Ward's age. Calzaghe wasn't one of them. Maybe you should change the thread title.

[IMDAZED]

You're right.

Roy Jones, James Toney, and Billy Conn would be better examples to illustrate my point.

Yep. Some pretty impressive company.

[mathed]

You can’t be serious. Ward spanked Kessler. Kessler gave Joe a good fight. Ward entered a tourney with great young prime fighters in it, that saids something about him, Calzaghe would never enter that tourney. Ward won, and is still winning. You really want to bring up Joe’s defenses? How many of those fighters were in the top 10 in their division?

Ward to most, has a better record than Calzaghe, and he is still in the prime of his career. The fact comparison threads already exist should say something about a guy who not only retired, but retired undefeated. Ward so far, has not taken an easy fight like Joe did for a majority of his career.

If you like Calzaghe, thats fine, but don’t be delusional.

Ward will move up soon, and the rest of his career will be at 175, not two fights like Joe.

Bro, Joe took Kessler's 0, he whooped up on a much fresher version of Bika. Ward won't even fight out his back yard, at least Joe traveled across the Atlantic to challenge the best in a weight class above his own. Ward has guys move down, come to his backyard, wants guys to move up......why not just ask for a silver platter too while he is at it?

[PurePugilist216]

Bro, Joe took Kessler's 0, he whooped up on a much fresher version of Bika. Ward won't even fight out his back yard, at least Joe traveled across the Atlantic to challenge the best in a weight class above his own. Ward has guys move down, come to his backyard, wants guys to move up......why not just ask for a silver platter too while he is at it?

Joe did that when he 35 you fool, against two 40 year old men. Since this is a comparison thread that most feel like Ward has done more already, he still has about 6 years to fight bums and stay at home before he moves up in weight and travels to fight non primed fighters.