Comments Thread For: Malignaggi: Andre Ward is The P4P Best, Could Lose To Kovalev

[j0zef]

Does getting marked up disqualify you from being p4p number 1?

Cause I remember pacquiao's face after the clottey fight. Didn't change my mind about pacquiao one bit.

A win is a win

No, it absolutely doesn't disqualify you. But as I said in the first post, there are 2 criteria to P4P - resume and skill displayed. Getting seriously marked up by Barrera doesn't impress me skill wise.

[kafkod]

just be honest, you're worried that Ward can beat Kovalev. I like both fighters so may the best man win. I favor ward but wouldnt be shocked if Kovalev wins. Both are beasts, with different styles.

Beterbiev is a prospect and is wholly average. this is the pros, not amatuers. He hasnt fought anyone with a pulse and the ones with a name were washed up and recieved thorough beatings before he got to them.

Being honest, no, I'm not in the slighest bit worried that Ward can beat Kovalev.

If the fight even happens Andre will have already proved I was wrong to call him a con man and I will eat my crow here then just enjoy the fight.

[therealpugilist]

No, it absolutely doesn't disqualify you. But as I said in the first post, there are 2 criteria to P4P - resume and skill displayed. Getting seriously marked up by Barrera doesn't impress me skill wise.

does knocking out no names impress you?

[therealpugilist]

Being honest, no, I'm not in the slighest bit worried that Ward can beat Kovalev.

If the fight even happens Andre will have already proved I was wrong to call him a con man and I will eat my crow here then just enjoy the fight.

we'll see

[BaDaBingVIP2]

Ward is indeed quite talented, as he should be. Same trainer I believe since he was a kid basically, has had stacks of fights to work pretty much every conceivable angle out with his game. He just has 2 problems... inactivity, AND Kovalev. Ward has always been able to rely on his superior boxing ability to win fights against tough odds. Well, now he's a bit rusty, timing off, and he's up against someone at or nearly at his level of boxing... AND the most power he's ever faced. This is indeed a 50-50 fight. Ironically, it will sell the bulk of tickets and PPVs because of Kovalev, not Ward. Still, a great fight.

good matchup cant wait to see it. i go back and forth with this one. edge to kov for being at the weight longer, being more active, and also has learned how to control distance throughout. ward has good skills, can control the pace, good rough inside game that can frustrate his opponents.
if i didnt get ppv's for free, i would fork up the funds for this matchup. may the best man on that night win.

[kafkod]

we'll see

But obviously, I would be rooting for Kovalev to win by complete annihilation to prove I was at least partly right in what I'd been saying.

[_Maxi]

I won't say that a lot of people hate on Andre Ward, but I do think there is a lot of under appreciation for his skill set. Ward might be best at explaining this phenomena:

June 3, 2011:
by Raymond Markarian

Thomas Hauser wrote, “In boxing, the better fighter beats the more exciting fighter almost every time.” He was illustrating his point in a post fight description of Floyd Mayweather’s sixth round knockout over Arturo Gatti. The story focused on the comments made by both combatants during the buildup of the fight. Before the bout Mayweather said, “I'm not going to let some guy beat my brains out. The name of the game is to hit and not get hit. The less you get hit, the longer you last in this sport. I'm not in this sport to see how hard I can get hit or to see how many big punches I can take. That's what he does."

Arturo responded with, “Floyd talks a big game, but he's never fought anyone who hits as hard as me. When I punch my opponents, I hurt them. People fall down when I hit them, and he's going to walk into it. The only thing he has over me is speed. We'll see what happens when speed and power go against each other."

Well, power does not work in boxing if your target has enough ability to get out of the way. When looking at differing viewpoints closely, Mayweather was saying that he was going to win by out-boxing Arturo Gatti. And the result of the contest was one of the most lopsided PPV bouts in recent memory. But it was also one of the most overlooked fights of Mayweather’s career because it looked too easy.

Describing a victory in boxing is complicated. Mayweather is 41-0 and has been justifiably wobbled by only two punches (thrown by Shane Mosley) since he fought DeMarcus Corley back in 2004. But he is considered soft to some viewers because he refuses to engage in a test of chins.

Today, Andre Ward is falling into the same Mayweather mold of misinterpretation. I addressed the issues of criticism with the super middleweight champion over the phone last week...

Maybe the way an average fight fan views a fight compared to a world class boxer is completely different. It could be that most of us don’t see what the fighters see because we have not stepped foot in the ring.

Ward has his own assessment. “I think it is a combination of things. It depends on how long the person has been a boxing fan. If you were a boxing fan that follows the fighters from the 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s, I think that those guys tend to appreciate the sweet science a lot more. They are able to see what you need to see in the game of boxing as a whole. But if you just became a fan a few years ago, with the rise of the MMA, you might be looking for some sort of tough man competition. I respect MMA a great deal. I watch it and appreciate the sport, but boxing is much different...”

There is a difference between outclassing and outpunching your opponents. Fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, and Andre Ward understand that. Why can’t we?

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/...and-mayweather

That's why Mayweather forced Maidana to use pillow gloves right? cuz power doesn't matter.

[j0zef]

The only decent punches Barrera landed were jabs, he got a few straight rights in when Ward was trying to time a check left hook.

You would have thought he was getting hit pretty good by your post. I was amazed Ward's D was as good as it was. Barrera was missing by millimeters.

I agree with you. Barrera's power shots were insanely slow. He looked like he was going in slow motion, and he threw a lot of extremely wide hooks.

But he still got marked up. I gave the Froch example to show visually what I meant. Either Ward's punch resistance is not what it used to be, or the 175s punch that much harder.. in either case, Ward took some damage which he did not against Kessler or Froch, two guys that are MUCH better than Barrera.

That's the criteria I used to say that his defense wasn't the same as it used to be. You can disagree, that is fine.

I brought up GGG because you explained how Ward isnt p4p, cool. Some people dont even have him top 5 or top ten because of inactivity. Yet GGG is top 3 and never beat an elite fighter. If ward isnt #1 cool....but IMO he is currently the most skilled, versatile fighter in the game. p4p is becoming more about preference and your last few fights not overall ability and resume.

I don't want to go into a huge Golovkin vs Ward pissfest. There's too many of those already. Use the same criteria for Golovkin as I did for Ward. Resume and skill displayed.
Resume - Ward beat 2 elite guys 4-5 years ago and has no notable wins in the last 3 years. Golovkin has no elite wins but has beaten several legit top10 contenders.

Skill Displayed - Golovkin has looked more impressive than Ward. He barely ever loses a round and finishes his opponents.
If we assume that Wade and Barrera are about on the same level (personally I think Barrera was slightly better), we can judge their performance. Ward won a wide decision, losing 1 round on the cards. Golovkin easily stopped Wade in the 2nd.

my point is at least we saw Ward beat elite guys...period....GGG hasnt and he is supposed to be top 3 p4p

That's fine, but that was 4 years ago. If this was 2012 or 2013, I'd agree with you. But it's not. Until Ward shows that he's still the same fighter he was 5 years ago, I'm not putting him anywhere near P4P #1.

Hell, Ward himself said that he would grade his performance a B-. If he can show in his next fight that he can still fight at the "A" level, I have no problems putting him in Top3 P4P.

[MDPopescu]

"B ... b ... b ... li'l g doe ... LI'L GEEEEE!!!"

Of course he talks about GGG, because he doesn't have to fight him. Instead he can't pronounce Kovalev's name, even if he is supposed to fight him this year.

[MC Hammer]

or he was getting hit on purpose......lol

Yeah that one's always in their back pockets.