Comments Thread For: Andre Ward Will Finally Return on June 20th in Oakland

[KO'er]

It's gonna be Paul Smith isn't it?

He's not a bad opponent for a comeback fight.

[Beercules]

Isn't he going to be fighting on BET?

[Scipio2009]

Sorry, but "openly rumored" doesn't cut it. An official list, confirmed by Ward's people and the proposed opponent's people and HBO is all that is acceptable. If such a list cannot be provided, then people should STFU and not try to make comparisons when they have nothing to compare with.

Idiots. Ward fans are such desperate creatures seeing as they have nothing recent to use as ammunition. Only achievements from years past that no longer mean anything and current rumors and speculations. Sad.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/51669/boxing-with-dan-rafael

filter through it on your own. At worst a secondary source, but the point that HBO rejected Oothuezien was made. A little more looking around and a source could also be found for the talk of the Periban fight being rejected as well.

If the bar for imformation is now going to be producing a digital copy of HBO's opponents' list, you might as well just move on with your life.

Unless that is another one of those rules that only apply to Ward/Mayweather/Quillin/etc.

[Scipio2009]

Except for fear of a hometown decision, I can't see why Ward doesn't agree to fight Froch (wherever Froch wants to fight). And any muscle Froch has developed since their fight in 2012 won't make a difference (look at the 2012 version of Froch and then the 2014 version). So, just maybe Ward will take a tune up fight or two and then decide that the money to be made in the U.K. is too good to pass up.

Ward offered to head over to the UK; Froch didn't want to have the fight anywhere but in Nottingham, his literal hometown.