Comments Thread For: Barrera: Kovalev Beat Ward 8-4 or 7-5, Ward is Dirty Fighter

[ruedboy]

I thought Barrera did OK against Ward considering his experience.
The Ward fight was only the second 12 round fight Barrera had as a pro.
As for calling Ward a dirty fighter, Ward's the kind of pro who will do anything he can get away in the ring including holding, holding and hitting, hitting on the break, low blows, hitting with his elbow and head butts.
Ward thinks anything goes as long as the ref allows it. He has a point. The rules are there but it's up to the ref to enforce them.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I thought Barrera did OK against Ward considering his experience.
The Ward fight was only the second 12 round fight Barrera had as a pro.
As for calling Ward a dirty fighter, Ward's the kind of pro who will do anything he can get away in the ring including holding, holding and hitting, hitting on the break, low blows, hitting with his elbow and head butts.
Ward thinks anything goes as long as the ref allows it. He has a point. The rules are there but it's up to the ref to enforce them.

That's the way I've always seen it. I don't condone dirty tactics, but it's part of the game. If the ref don't call it, may as well keep doing it. And if the ref don't call it, it's the other fighter's responsibility to fight fire with fire. It's a fight, after all.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I get the impression that Barrera is trying real hard to land as many big fights as he can before he's too old. Like a lot of Cuban defectors, he started his pro career late. Sullivan is already 34.

[mathed]

Barrera is a racist. Only whites saw Kovalev win.

LOL, no kidding right.

[mathed]

I thought Barrera did OK against Ward considering his experience.
The Ward fight was only the second 12 round fight Barrera had as a pro.
As for calling Ward a dirty fighter, Ward's the kind of pro who will do anything he can get away in the ring including holding, holding and hitting, hitting on the break, low blows, hitting with his elbow and head butts.
Ward thinks anything goes as long as the ref allows it. He has a point. The rules are there but it's up to the ref to enforce them.

The problem is that the ref will let Ward get away with it, yet warn his opponents for the same fouls. The same ref would deduct a point from another fighter given the same "tactics".

[KingHippo]

I thought Barrera did OK against Ward considering his experience.
The Ward fight was only the second 12 round fight Barrera had as a pro.
As for calling Ward a dirty fighter, Ward's the kind of pro who will do anything he can get away in the ring including holding, holding and hitting, hitting on the break, low blows, hitting with his elbow and head butts.
Ward thinks anything goes as long as the ref allows it. He has a point. The rules are there but it's up to the ref to enforce them.

The way I see it, any fighter is better when he learns how to use the rules to his advantage. Andre Ward is also supremely skilled besides the roughhousing techniques. Lomachenko would've have lost if he fought against Salido like he did against Walters.

[Nomadic]

Which one is it, he lost or dirty fighter?

[ruedboy]

The problem is that the ref will let Ward get away with it, yet warn his opponents for the same fouls. The same ref would deduct a point from another fighter given the same "tactics".

I agree, the refs aren't consistent about enforcing the rules. If Kenny Bayless had been the ref instead of Byrd, we would have seen a different fight. When rules aren't enforced consistently than they're bad rules.
Who the ref is shouldn't determine who the winner is, but sometimes it does.

[ruedboy]

The way I see it, any fighter is better when he learns how to use the rules to his advantage. Andre Ward is also supremely skilled besides the roughhousing techniques. Lomachenko would've have lost if he fought against Salido like he did against Walters.

You're right about Ward but I think he's been so successful with the rough house style that his overall offense has suffered. I think he's become predictable with the way he falls in, smothers his opponent but in the process sometimes smothers his own offense as well. But hey, he's undefeated, so it must be working.

[THC]

Who the ref is shouldn't determine who the winner is, but sometimes it does.

Of course the fighters dictate what happens in the ring, but, yes, sometimes a referee can influence the outcome. e.g. Ward-Kessler.