Be honest, do GGG fans really think he can beat Ward and why?

[techliam]

the only reason I even used 60/40 is because WARD has to get back to his proper form

If he was active like he was pre 2013 I'd have it 80/20....He was number 2 p4p in my eyes back then and showed it by the way he beat elite 168s with relative ease

Also GGG is a big question mark but I give him credit for how he dominates and took in account Wards inactivity

If they were the same size??? they've been one weight class apart most of their careers so size isn't really a factor in my book though it should be considered

Such a feeble answer. Make your mind up, is it a factor to consider, or is it not?

'one weight class apart' doesn't really tell the whole story, does it?

GGG is a below average MW, weighing the same as most 154lbers. He's just not able to cut weight as easily as the younger guys can. Ward is a pretty big 168lber, who's starting to fill into 175. You really think this scenario is explained well by just saying 'one weight class apart'? The weight gap is more than considerable

Golovkin weighed 7lb less than Ward weighed in for the Smith fight, 30 days before the Lemiuex weigh-in.

[PsychoJim]

Oh, I see where I was wrong now. Thanks to your GIF of Larry David yawning, I now think GGG will win. It seems so obvious when you put it like that.

Gees, I can understand why people don't like Golovkin fanboys.

[Motofan]

Nope. Ward's style is all wrong for GGG IMO, and the size would really hurt him. Ward smothers and pushes GGG back all night and wins an ugly decision in a mess of an inside fight that Golovkin is just not equipped to fight. Ward v Kovalev is a 50-50 fight though IMO.

[bluebeam]

Darnell Boone’s a good puncher, but he’s a slug. He’s not on that level. For a guy [like Boone] to hurt you like that, that means something’s wrong here. (c) abel sanchez

that happened while ward was a prospect in his 7th pro fight.

he wasn't even a world champion yet

[Eff Pandas]

I suspect a high percentage of GGG fans honestly believe GGG can beat Ward & probably all the GGG fanboys do or certainly 90%+, as crazy as that might sound.

And the reason why is simple. He can punch. Historically in boxing guys who can KTFO of people are overrated. Tyson was supposed to all but murder Holyfield. Pretty sure Liston & Foreman were both expected to murder Ali. Ali was openly mocked by the media during the Liston build up iirc. There are lesser examples of this all over boxing. This is the same situation. People seemingly have always underrated "boxers" & overrated punchers. Doesn't mean GGG couldn't actually win, but I think reasonable boxing minds would suggest GGG is a nice dog for that fight.

[brettWall]

Yes. He can beat Ward. This coming from a guy who rooted for Lemieux.

At 168, he'll be more powerful and Ward would run all night. That's why Ward never did anything to make the fight happen.

[Luilun]

If Ward was as great as he thinks he would fight in his own weight division. A guy who wins the Light Heavy Weight Gold Medal drops to 168 than fights at catch weights 172. Now ask yourself why probably insecurity about winning at 175

[j0zef]

I suspect a high percentage of GGG fans honestly believe GGG can beat Ward & probably all the GGG fanboys do or certainly 90%+, as crazy as that might sound.

And the reason why is simple. He can punch. Historically in boxing guys who can KTFO of people are overrated. Tyson was supposed to all but murder Holyfield. Pretty sure Liston & Foreman were both expected to murder Ali. Ali was openly mocked by the media during the Liston build up iirc. There are lesser examples of this all over boxing. This is the same situation. People seemingly have always underrated "boxers" & overrated punchers. Doesn't mean GGG couldn't actually win, but I think reasonable boxing minds would suggest GGG is a nice dog for that fight.

This misconception is widely spread around the forums. Golovkin gets all the credit for his power, but he gets no credit for his accuracy, defense and boxing skills.

Make no mistake about it, he's a vastly experienced silver medalist. Golovkin can box better than any current MW. He just happens to be an excellent puncher as well.

[PsychoJim]

If Ward was as great as he thinks he would fight in his own weight division. A guy who wins the Light Heavy Weight Gold Medal drops to 168 than fights at catch weights 172. Now ask yourself why probably insecurity about winning at 175

If Golovkin was willing to take on "anyone from 154 to 168" he wouldn't ask for a catch weight of 164 just for Ward.

[The Big Dunn]

I dont know who would win to be honest. That's what makes this matchup so intriguing. Both have strengths that would cause problems for each other. It just sucks that they are now 2 weight classes apart. The winner of this fight will never get full credit as one of them will have to be at a weight disadvantage for this to happen.

GGG is a true MW. If Ward was a true SMW a catchweight of 164 would have been a fair meeting point for both fighters. Yes we can go back and forth all day about "well GGG was willing to fight so and so at 168 doe!", but lets just be logical for a seconds. CW's are primarily for 2 fighters who are 1 weight class apart. Its to even the playing field for BOTH fighters. This is nothing new and has been going on for decades.

As it stands Ward is fighting in the LHW division. I would like to see GGG move up to SMW once he unifies as planned and hopefully Ward can meet him there. That's if he can still make SMW.

Ward isn't a LHW yest. Lets say he is.

The inbetween weight would be 168 now, which is the same weight GGG was willing to fight Chavez Jr and Froch.

Given that sales failed to meet expectations, maybe a Ward fight at 168 right now is a good idea?