You've got to give Andre Ward credit

[Szef]

Alright, I'll humour you and pretend the super six didn't happen. Would a win over Kovalev prove his greatness in your opinion?

The Super Six win is a very good accomplishment, but moving up and beating a guy who's arguably the P4P no 1 would be better, in my opinion, at least.

Ward has a very good resume, but let's not act like he didn't have it easier than other fighters. Showtime set this whole tournament up, if it wasn't for them Ward probably wouldn't be what it is today.

Also, as some other poster in this thread said, Ward moved up and will probably be fighting Kovalev because of HBO. And thanks to HBO he hasn't fought Brand like he wanted to.

So once again, a TV network helped Ward with his choice of opponents. So all this talk about him 'daring to be great' is just hilarious.

I know it looks like I'm trying to downgrade his accomplishments, I'm really not, his resume is very good and his fighting ability is undeniable.

I'm just sick of people who try to paint Ward as some kind of romantic, old school boxer from novels who's fighting everybody, everywhere while the truth is, he's had it easier than other fighters, like his archi-nemesis for example, and yet people keep ignoring that fact.

[about.thousands]

Ward will never get credit because her pulled GGG's hoe card. Lots of talking about Ward when he was inactive but as soon as he started fighting again they didn't want that work. Ward told Loeffler stop lying to the fans and stop mentioning house name. They complied.

[therealpugilist]

Ward could have called out Stevenson and Hopkins at 175 and then demand a 171 catchweight for Kovalev like a straight B I T C H, but he didnt. True champ.

War SOG

whered you find that pic of young Roy, Rid**** and Ray....they rockin those adidas sweat suits...so 80s

[Jewish-Reptile]

Smith is pretty much on the level of Golovkin's opponents and Barrera is arguably better than anyone Golovkin has fought (if that sounds shocking, give it some thought).

There's a few sad twats who pretend Ward ducked gg and was "forced" to fight Kovalev but no one really puts any stake into what they say.

Andre is a humble, quiet, intelligent guy, who is going after a nightmare opponent. To hate on that, you've got to be a pretty miserable fker.

Great post, greens sent.

In the event Ward beats Kovalev, GGG blow hards have thx perfect excuse to hide behind. If Ward wins and claims he can still make 168 I guarantee GGG will never move up and continue to face scrubs like Saunders, Jacobs and Lemieux.

[MisterHardtop]

Andre Ward is a terrific fighter, I doubt many would disagree with that. He is smart and can judge distance better than any active fighter. On top of that, he is physically strong and knows how to get rough. These are all trademarks of a potentially special fighter but like so many in this generation, his potential may go untapped.

[ShoulderRoll]

Ward has clearly beaten:

Arthur Abraham
Mikkel Kessler
Carl Froch
Chad Dawson

He is about to face Sergey Kovalev at the end of the year. And he would have faced Golovkin by now if GGG wasn't so concerned with "financial sense" and 164 lb catch weights.

All of that to go along with a great amateur career, an Olympic gold medal, and not a single loss since he was 14 years old.

I don't know what more he has to do to earn respect. There are fighters who have accomplished far less who get put on a higher pedestal than Andre.

[.!WAR MIKEY!.]

In an era of catchweights, ducks and "marinating" he went straight for the jugular and is taking on Sergey Kovalev at his weight. That takes ambition and balls. It's also one of the best fights that can be made right now.

Dude deserves more respect and these kinds of moves should be encouraged as it's good for boxing, it's good for the fans and it's good for the legacy of the boxer(s) who steps up.

Here's to a great fight later this year and hope that other boxers might follow in his footsteps.

how easy people forget he ducked bute and bascially sat out for 2 years cause he was afraid goosen was trying to put him in tough, then he came back and fights 2 bums back to back.

straight to the jugular lmfao GTFOH its about time he fights someone. Last real fight 2011!

LAST REAL FIGHT WAS IN 2011

[Dinamita 03]

He deserves credit for fighting Kovalev of course when that fight actually happens. He's slowly working his way towards that fight by fighting lower-tier fighters. He's likely 1-2 fights away from actually fighting Kovalev so it's not necessarily going straight to the jugular.

There's obviously marinating it like any other fight trying to increase demand for what with likely be a PPV.

[elgu]

He hasn't faced Kovalev yet, so you can't give him credit for that. Smith, Rodriguez, drained Dawson, wanting to fight a guy the NSAC wouldn't approve don't exactly leave a good taste in my mouth. If he fights Kovalev then he gets some props, and even then lets not act like HBO didn't force him. He wanted bums for big bucks. Thankfully I wont have to see his face after the Kovalev fight.

[ShoulderRoll]

If he fights Kovalev then he gets some props, and even then lets not act like HBO didn't force him.

See? Even if he beats Kovalev there will be an "if" or a "but."

There's nothing the guy can do to satisfy the haters. They set unreasonable standards for him that they won't apply to anyone else in boxing.