Team Ward sent Cleverly an offer. 2 others in the mix

[MDPopescu]

Cleverly would be a good warm-up for Kovalev. When Ward and Kovalev fight, Ward will do the same thing to Kovalev that Muhammed Ali did to another unbeatable beast named George Foreman.

... yeah, sure... Kovalev is just a desperate brawler who is knocking himself out like a ******... sure...

[MDPopescu]

Ward is stubborn -- he wanted Brand (after they denied him that Murdock fight)...
He will fight Brand (who's a SMW and he's of GGG's size)...

[daggum]

i've never seen someone target a bum so much. he wanted to fight periban for years and never was able to and now he keeps wanting to fight alexander brand. why?

[Pigeons]

Cleverly's coming off a rough loss to Fonfara and before that he was beaten by Bellew and those were his only significant fights since being destroyed by Kovalev. There's nothing he can offer against Ward, Brand might actually be a better fighter right now than Cleverly (who sounds like he's just looking for a paycheck). Skoglund is Zac Dunne level.

Honestly I would've been fine with Maxim Vlasov or Vasily Lepikhin. Both are experienced, fundamentally sound, and willing to push themselves in a hard fight.

Lepikhin just drew with a fighter who's record was 3-2-1 and Vlasov has weighed over 196 lbs. in his last 3 fights.

Brand just fought at LHW and beat an undefeated Russian.

[CaneloMaidana]

i've never seen someone target a bum so much. he wanted to fight periban for years and never was able to and now he keeps wanting to fight alexander brand. why?

He wants to be like golovkin.

[daggum]

He wants to be like golovkin.

pretty sure ggg has tried to fight all the top guys at 160 over the last 4 years. pretty sure ward hasn't tried to fight any top fighters since 2011. pretty sure he tried to fight zac dunn, paul smith, periban, caleb truax, sartison and alexander brand. that's the exact opposite. your brain must hurt.

[Sparked_26]

i've never seen someone target a bum so much. he wanted to fight periban for years and never was able to and now he keeps wanting to fight alexander brand. why?

Reminds me of my Fight Night career when I kept targeting a bum called Waldo Sanchez.

Brutally knocked him out 4 times.

[kiaba360]

Cleverly is most battle-tested, while Brand is the oldest and has the most KO's. I've seen Skoglund before, he's ok and he's the youngest opponent. None will beat Ward, so it doesn't really matter. Ward just needs to stay busy.

[Guest]

I voted for Cleverly. Nate is a solid quality fighter who is gritty, has heart and will go in there and actually try to win - unlike Ward's last two opponents.

I like the choice too. Cleverly likes to mix up his shots and throws a lot so I think it would help Ward be on point defensively without too much danger.
He is roughly similar in stature to Kovalev unlike Brand who is quite a bit shorter.

[Sparked_26]

Cleverly is most battle-tested, while Brand is the oldest and has the most KO's. I've seen Skoglund before, he's ok and he's the youngest opponent. None will beat Ward, so it doesn't really matter. Ward just needs to stay busy.

Would Ward even use these guys as sparring partners for a big fight?

Sometimes I think there is a level you get to like Ward has - when I am a bit baffled by the importance of stay busy fights.