Andre Ward: UK fans better because they have less options.

[Barcham]

lol @ the hoops you just jumped through to avoid the unequivocal truth - america is the most athletically accomplished nation of all time.


it hurts, doesn't it?

Unfortunate that America is also the most academically challenged nation of the civilized world as well. Oh well, don't need to be smart to work at Wal-Mart or sling burgers.

And as far as college sports go, they are the modern equivalent of slavery and indentured servitude. Nothing to be proud of or brag about there.

[Tom Cruise]

i didn't even listen to what he had to say. i've transcended all of the content, and moved straight to what's really at issue here. british men are generally deluded about their boxers.

I know they are, its because boxing isnt that big of a sport over here. We still compete though like we do in almost all global sports.

[Unseen]

America has more money pumped into many things than the rest of the world, hence why they are good at many sports, but the fans aint loyal 100

[- Ram Raid -]

To give the posters in America an idea of how big boxing is over here relative to other sports, it was commonplace that 'boxing' was dropped from the option bar of the online sports section of one of the country's leading newspapers and placed in a side box alongside 'chess'.. . . This happened on a regular basis.

As in the U.S, boxing just doesn't compete over here compared to other sports. It's dwarfed so it's really not about a lack of other sporting options. I take his point and it may have some validity to it in terms of a saturated Amercan sports scene but from the outside looking in it seems that Ward's lifestyle and personality are the type that American's would have readily identified with in the late 40's/early 50's but not now.

A quiet, relatively humble and boring, God-fearing family man without any dirt on him or even a competitive rival just doesn't seem to cut it amongst the brash sensational sports stars and their back stories that are produced in American sports at an almost constant rate.

[BodiesInFlight]

lol @ the hoops you just jumped through to avoid the unequivocal truth - america is the most athletically accomplished nation of all time.


it hurts, doesn't it?

How come China won the Olympics then - you know, the event you cited as proof of America's dominance?

They don't have hunky black dudes doe

[JACK1190]

Ward is 100% correct.

We have the largest youth sports program in the entire world, we build MILLION dollar stadiums to watch HIGH SCHOOL football games, sports are god in America, no country compares.

Collegiate sports as well are huge, really there is no comparison.

What the sports that only your country plays and you call it a 'World Series'. Leave it out son. Sports are just as big over here.

[sunny31]

I don't think it is a lack of numbers or options, this is totally false. There is plenty of fighters who never even made it to a world title and stayed at domestic level who had great followings, and did pretty big crowds. Things like Prize Fighter as well, which actually attracted overseas fighters also and did big tv numbers.

We get behind our athletes...period. Definitely support our athletes much better than the US do, we support them and sometimes bring them down, but generally we get behind, boxing is no exception. Look at the things Frampton is doing in Ireland, the support Rory Mcilroy gets, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray, numerous great stars in team sports, there certainly isn't a lack of options.

This is Andre Ward's way of saying, they aren't really better, but it is just sour g****s. He hasn't been promoted the right way, hasn't had the right fights, he can put that right as he has massive options, that is what he should concentrate on.

[sunny31]

Why didn't Serena or Venus Williams get a following from US fans to the other grand slams, and tournaments outside the US, if they were British you better believe they would have been, they would have had huge followings because it is an amazing unprecedented story, but no. Its not like the US has had a plethora of great tennis players during this era either...pathetic. Andy Murray has a great British following wherever he goes, and at Wimbledon its nuts.

[kiaba360]

Ward is starting to get as insecure as Mayweather and it's just an ugly facet to an already ugly personality.

I'm getting this vibe from him too. He already has the defensive style and fighting twice a year down, now it's time to add the inflated ego. Ward needs to fight more often, and needs to become more aggressive in the ring if he wants to grow his fanbase.

[In Motion]

Ward with the 1-2 punch knockout! LOL.

I honestly thought he was referring to the abundance of decent fighters from the UK because in the US we have so many great champs to root for.

Ward doesn't really "compete" with the Warriors, Giants and the other Bay Area teams. In fact it could be argued they're all on the same team sort to speak. However Ward's biggest critics tend to be the bitter Brits who are just mad about the Froch situation. You know, the fight where Froch got utterly outclassed and embarrassed.