Who should Andre Ward fight next?

[i'm a fun haver]

Chudinov vs Buglioni winner...at 168. Defend that belt

[Scipio2009]

I think you are underestimating Golovkin's popularity. I mean, yes, we will know for sure in October. I suppose I could be wrong...but Golovkin is a star now. He's not a superstar, but he is a star. And Ward is a great boxer, but he just isn't popular on a national level. Of course, Roc Nation can help in that regard, but he already has a long way to catch up to GGG in my opinion.

And I've been to a few Golovkin fights on the east coast, and I never paid less than $80 for a ticket.

What has Golovkin actually done to make him a star, even at this point? HBO loves to feature him, willing to put him out there against anyone as often as he's willing to fight, and he's seemingly shown that he's got a SoCal fanbase to look toward (tickets being so underpriced at their face value undermines that a bit, but I'll let that go).

Were it not for Kellerman being on SportsNation, I couldn't fathom watching Golovkin sit for an extended segment on First Take or Good Morning America or The View, or any real media obligation where he has to really have a conversation. With Ward, I have none of those doubts.

Ward is a great boxer, is a pretty big deal in the Bay Area, and has a far bigger national/international name then what people seem willing to acknowledge. With RocNation now in his corner, Ward finally has an outfit with the marketing heft and financial weight to push him as hard nationally as he was pushed in the Bay Area.

Lastly, Golovkin has had four fights on the East Coast, only one of which was held in a venue that seated(gr?) more than 5k seats (wikipedia has the capacity at the MSG Theater at 5600 for concerts, and that number is likely far smaller for an actual fight card). Not gonna ask where your seat was, but for small venues like that, I'd hope that you had decent seats.

[Jsmooth9876]

Well if it's on BET I'd say Donnie Simpson.

[kiaba360]

Ideally, he'd fight DeGale or the winner of Groves/Jack. If he can't get those, then Pascal or Fonfara. The problem is, 3 of these match-ups seem unlikely.

[mathed]

Fonfara or Chilemba

[mathed]

Willie Monroe Jr up to 172 it is then.