Tweet
A few items that need to be addressed:
(I know this a bit tldr, but bear with me)
1. Please stop comparing a catchweight with Ward to a catchweight with Cotto/Canelo, especially in Cotto's case. Does Gennady have a belt at 168? Does Gennady fight at 161-165 because he can't make the MW limit? Oh, he doesn't? Then stfu immediately. If Cotto doesn't want to be the MW champ, he can hand his belt over to its rightful owner and avoid the fight altogether.
2. The Ward catchweight is what CWs are for. Champions of different divisions meeting in the middle. The fight offers for JCC jr and Froch were just that: fight offers. For money. Big money. No titles on the line, no p4p status, just money. The Ward offer seemed more like a way to put the ball in his court and shut him up for a bit so Gennady could finish his middleweight campaign without being called a ducker. In fact, even if they did fight at 164 and Golovkin beat Ward, I wouldn't recognize him as the real SMW champ, just as I have a hard time recognizing Cotto as the real MW champ.
3. With all this tough talk from the I-Hate-GGG crowd, why was a fight between Floyd and Gennady so ridiculous for so many to consider? Gennady was willing to come down to a weight where Floyd held titles and Floyd should be expected to defend those titles against the best fighters who can make the weight limit. It seems like the same posters that didn't want this fight to happen are the same ones demanding that GGG go up to 168 (where he's never fought and doesn't have belts) and see the best fighter in the division. Can't have it both ways, guys.
4. Stop assuming that Golovkin fans don't want a Ward fight. Any real fan of Gennady should want this fight to happen. I know what a win over Ward would do for Gennady's status and his legacy (at least among hardcore fans, anyway). Besides, I think Gennady could knock Ward on his ass a couple times, chase him around the ring, and beat him up over 12 rounds. It's not that far-fetched. I know Gennady wrote a pretty big check when he said he would fight anyone at 168, and it made more sense when he didn't have any big fights lined up at 160, but now he does and he wants to get those out of the way first. What's so terrible about that? He will move when he's ready to move up, he'll keep his word about fighting the best at 168, and hopefully Ward can still make SMW and the fight can happen. It's a good fight for both guys and a good fight for boxing. Unfortunately, Ward may not even be able to make 168 anymore. Does that mean Gennady is now ducking a light heavyweight? You know, for a so-called bum crusher with no skills or resume, his detractors certainly hold him to a high standard.
In summation, please don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. I saw it happen for years with the Floyd/Pac fan feud, and it seems like the whole thing is happening all over again. Let's try to remember that these guys are all brave warriors and deserve our respect. There are times when I post hateful things in the heat of the moment that I later regret. I am going to try my best to see these situations from the perspective of all of the fighters involved and their respective teams, and so should the rest of you.
There's no reason we can't be civil.
---------------------
(I know this a bit tldr, but bear with me)
1. Please stop comparing a catchweight with Ward to a catchweight with Cotto/Canelo, especially in Cotto's case. Does Gennady have a belt at 168? Does Gennady fight at 161-165 because he can't make the MW limit? Oh, he doesn't? Then stfu immediately. If Cotto doesn't want to be the MW champ, he can hand his belt over to its rightful owner and avoid the fight altogether.
2. The Ward catchweight is what CWs are for. Champions of different divisions meeting in the middle. The fight offers for JCC jr and Froch were just that: fight offers. For money. Big money. No titles on the line, no p4p status, just money. The Ward offer seemed more like a way to put the ball in his court and shut him up for a bit so Gennady could finish his middleweight campaign without being called a ducker. In fact, even if they did fight at 164 and Golovkin beat Ward, I wouldn't recognize him as the real SMW champ, just as I have a hard time recognizing Cotto as the real MW champ.
3. With all this tough talk from the I-Hate-GGG crowd, why was a fight between Floyd and Gennady so ridiculous for so many to consider? Gennady was willing to come down to a weight where Floyd held titles and Floyd should be expected to defend those titles against the best fighters who can make the weight limit. It seems like the same posters that didn't want this fight to happen are the same ones demanding that GGG go up to 168 (where he's never fought and doesn't have belts) and see the best fighter in the division. Can't have it both ways, guys.
4. Stop assuming that Golovkin fans don't want a Ward fight. Any real fan of Gennady should want this fight to happen. I know what a win over Ward would do for Gennady's status and his legacy (at least among hardcore fans, anyway). Besides, I think Gennady could knock Ward on his ass a couple times, chase him around the ring, and beat him up over 12 rounds. It's not that far-fetched. I know Gennady wrote a pretty big check when he said he would fight anyone at 168, and it made more sense when he didn't have any big fights lined up at 160, but now he does and he wants to get those out of the way first. What's so terrible about that? He will move when he's ready to move up, he'll keep his word about fighting the best at 168, and hopefully Ward can still make SMW and the fight can happen. It's a good fight for both guys and a good fight for boxing. Unfortunately, Ward may not even be able to make 168 anymore. Does that mean Gennady is now ducking a light heavyweight? You know, for a so-called bum crusher with no skills or resume, his detractors certainly hold him to a high standard.
In summation, please don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. I saw it happen for years with the Floyd/Pac fan feud, and it seems like the whole thing is happening all over again. Let's try to remember that these guys are all brave warriors and deserve our respect. There are times when I post hateful things in the heat of the moment that I later regret. I am going to try my best to see these situations from the perspective of all of the fighters involved and their respective teams, and so should the rest of you.
There's no reason we can't be civil.
---------------------
Comment