Comments Thread For: Andre Ward Says Paul Smith is Not a Soft Touch

[ChestRockwell]

Andre "No Excuses" Ward

[shoog]

Its crazy that 18 months ago ward and mikey garcia were 2 of the top guys on hbo and boxing and they havent fought since. Its just good to see him back in the ring here, hopefully garcia gets back in the ring soon.

[BOXEO _]

Ward ain't even fighting at 168 again, he can't make the weight.

[Jsmooth9876]

Who cares, it's a comeback fight. Let him get his 1 or 2 this year then start getting all the belts at 168 until he goes up to face Kovalev or GGG comes up and fights him.

[richardt]

I don't think Ward should have to fight the elite right out of the gate from basically retirement. Let him get a warm up or two and then go for the top caliber guys.

[rasdun]

Ward is my dude but come on son.

Yeah. Ward is kinda like Mayweather in that he's soooo good, most fights are soft touches. Really, who is there at 168 for Ward. Degale, groves? Only tough fights are GGG, Kovalev and Ward should beat them too

[rasdun]

I don't think Ward should have to fight the elite right out of the gate from basically retirement. Let him get a warm up or two and then go for the top caliber guys.

Retirement? U mean contract negotiations? Lol. Not the same thing. Plus, what elite guys are there at 168? He's the only one. Ward v Froch 2 would be worth watching, but does he really need 1-2 warmups for that. Froch is an easy fight for Ward, and he should be the warmup for a fight with GGG or Kovalev

[Barcham]

I don't think Ward should have to fight the elite right out of the gate from basically retirement. Let him get a warm up or two and then go for the top caliber guys.

HUH??? But Ward fans want Kessler to come back from two years retirement to jump on a plane and fight Ward in Oakland?

Other fighters, the really great ones, have come back from long layoffs and jumped right back in the middle of things with no 'tune up' rights against punching bags. Ali was out for three and a half years and fought Quarry, Bonavena and Frazier in the space of 5 months upon his return.

If Ward is the fighter he and his fans claim him to be, he should not need any tune up fights at all. He should already have Groves, DeGale and Dirrell lined up and ready to go. Paul Smith? He doesn't even belong on the undercard.

[VatoMulatto]

Well, he's got the right mentality. He can't go in there thinking this is going to be an easy fight and underestimate Smith. Smith is not worldclass but you have to take every fight seriously like it's a title fight. Ward has the perfect mindset.

[JJRod]

Paul Smith is a soft touch.
He needs to go out there, dominate, impress and work his way back to HBO's good graces.