Ward's Style. . . Love it or Hate it?

[Dr Rumack]

I thought his performance against Froch was a masterpiece. He looked amazing against Dawson too but Chad was a dead man that night.

[BostonGuy]

Fookin' love it:

[Resilient]

What's so fooking entertaining about a guy who whips a soft punch and immediately initiates a clinch.

Should have been DQ'd by now.

''Veteran tacticz'' doe

[Resilient]

Ward could very well be he most overrated piece of **** of our generation. I am positive that there hasn't been a person who doesn't crack a laugh or move their brow when they see him on a P4P list. This is reflected in his abysmal viewer ratings, no one cares about him or his life.

Fantastic post.

[Kiddoe]

Love the style. Hate the inactivity.

[Joshua Child]

ahaha they all claim hes boring yet fail to acknoledge that its usually the oponent who refuses to engage and thats what often times makes the fight boring or so it seems to the casual eye. But yeah whatever wards just another darkskin to them of course they gonna give him a hard time. P4p #2 and still undefeated so suck on that.

Bro I hate watching Klinchko every bit as much as I do Andre Ward. It has nothing to do with color and everything to do with clinching being a massive part of their game-plan. If the ref's would take away points more quickly these guys wouldn't get away with their bs. Also let's add Khan to the list for his last fight which was rife with fouls from Khan including a huge amount of headlocks and clinches/holding.

[bojangles1987]

Bro I hate watching Klinchko every bit as much as I do Andre Ward. It has nothing to do with color and everything to do with clinching being a massive part of their game-plan. If the ref's would take away points more quickly these guys wouldn't get away with their bs. Also let's add Khan to the list for his last fight which was rife with fouls from Khan including a huge amount of headlocks and clinches/holding.

Ward really didn't clinch much against either Froch or Dawson. It was bad early against Rodriguez, but Rodriguez was just as responsible for it. Ward would take the fight inside and Rodriguez had no answer but to grab.

Ward has become less of a clincher since Kessler, Bika, and Green, which were his first fights at a championship level.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

I appreciate what he does but don't enjoy watching it really.

[jayjames616]

I don't love it or hate it but I do appreciate it. Ward can outbox you or out fight you. He can get the job done any way.

[Joshua Child]

Ward really didn't clinch much against either Froch or Dawson. It was bad early against Rodriguez, but Rodriguez was just as responsible for it. Ward would take the fight inside and Rodriguez had no answer but to grab.

Ward has become less of a clincher since Kessler, Bika, and Green, which were his first fights at a championship level.

At some point you can't blame it on his opponents when he smothers practically every single one with dirty tactics and holding. Look, that's his style and it works, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy watching it. Sometimes it almost feels like a form of MMA instead of boxing. I still believe that it should be up to the ref's to penalize fighters for over clinching/holding so I can't blame it entirely on the fighter.

BTW I was at the Rodriguez fight (I got free tix) and the whole crowd was groaning in that fight but you're right that Rodriguez wasn't helping the matter. I don't think Rodriguez really has a track record in his past fights for fighting the way he fought against Ward. Ward forces all his opponents into that style of fight, credit to him for doing so.

It's also no coincidence that many of the guys who train with Virgil Hunter end up using the same tactics as Ward. Karim Mayfield, Amir Khan and Brandon Gonzales to name a few.