Andre Ward vs Azea Augustuma?

[Barcham]

preferable long enough for kovalev to either lose or move up to cruiser lol

And then Ward will be crying because Kovalev will not come down to fight him at 175. He has everything well planned out.

[firstborn]

Alright man, but he's not looking for ranked opponents it seems, and gets a ton of leeway from posters who want GGG to jump when Ward says hop, despite finally having great options in his weight class unlike Ward. Doubt he'd get much sympathy for wanting 3 tuneups at 168 before facing Ward.

You're right, GGG does get a lot of unfair criticism but most of that is because of his outspoken trainer and disdain for his overzealous fans. It's not right but I doubt the majority of reasonable fans listen to GGG detractors anyway.

I've never been overly excited about Ward fighting GGG anyway because I didn't believe Ward would get full credit if he won. Personally I am looking forward to seeing GGG versus Lemieux and hopefully GGG vs Canelo next year.

[HeroBando]

Most likely the HBO 3 fight deal. HBO most likely want certain things and so does Ward's team... so they're trying to **** it

I get that but where's Ward's leverage? His alternative is BET. If you're gonna build up Ward Kov into a PPV somehow, 3 tuneups won't do.

[firstborn]

And how much time are you willing to give Ward to work his way up to fighting Kovalev? 6 months? 1 year? 2? As long as Ward wants to take?

Two fights year is reasonable, late 2016 or early 2017. What's your preferred timeframe?

[HeroBando]

You're right, GGG does get a lot of unfair criticism but most of that is because of his outspoken trainer and disdain for his overzealous fans. It's not right but I doubt the majority of reasonable fans listen to GGG detractors anyway.

I've never been overly excited about Ward fighting GGG anyway because I didn't believe Ward would get full credit if he won. Personally I am looking forward to seeing GGG versus Lemieux and hopefully GGG vs Canelo next year.

Nothing personal man, I see you're an even handed Ward fan. I'll go overboard with trolls and less reasonable posters. But really not a fan of these recent PR tactics from Team Ward, on top of his prior career mismanagement.

[Build That Wall]

Why is it that only Bums want to fight Ward.

[Hougigo]

I get that but where's Ward's leverage? His alternative is BET. If you're gonna build up Ward Kov into a PPV somehow, 3 tuneups won't do.

His leverage is Kov needs a good opponent. HBO probably don't want to do a Pascal trilogy then Barrera/Gonzalez forever. Also I bet Kov is about to drop his IBF belt because Bieber about to smash Murat and Duva isn't winning that bid.

Or HBO could do that... not like they're paying him out the ass

[HeroBando]

His leverage is Kov needs a good opponent. HBO probably don't want to do a Pascal trilogy then Barrera/Gonzalez forever. Also I bet Kov is about to drop his IBF belt because Bieber about to smash Murat and Duva isn't winning that bid.

Or HBO could do that... not like they're paying him out the ass

They could well do that. Are they gonna be strongarmed for multiple expensive mismatches leading to a single fight (probable PPV money loser) vs a guy with no real superstar potential? Doesn't look like their MO anymore

[Hougigo]

They could well do that. Are they gonna be strongarmed for multiple expensive mismatches leading to a single fight (probable PPV money loser) vs a guy with no real superstar potential? Doesn't look like their MO anymore

Probably not, that's Ward's only leverage IMO... good fight for Kov and possible PPV. No way it's a PPV now and they need to promote the hell out of it for next year, which is why they're starting now.

Do I think they'll waste money on him? Yea, but they probably won't give him those 2 million Payays for E-Rods again

[HeroBando]

Probably not, that's Ward's only leverage IMO... good fight for Kov and possible PPV. No way it's a PPV now and they need to promote the hell out of it for next year, which is why they're starting now.

Do I think they'll waste money on him? Yea, but they probably won't give him those 2 million Payays for E-Rods again

Then definitely not 2m for the likes of Dunn, Periban, or this guy Azea. And that's not how you build up the unlikely PPV. Ward's gotta be willing to take some mild risks on the way to that Kov PPV.