Andre Ward really is a wasted talent.

[daggum]

Wasted talent is an exaggeration. A wasted talent doesn't have the list of accomplishments that Andre Ward does.

An under-used talent, sure.

all his accomplishments are tainted. super six heavily weighted in his favor. kovalev decision was terrible. relies on a clinch and punch style which is illegal in tough fights. def overrated if people are calling him p4p #1.

[W1LL]

so you overinflated the guy and want to act like it's a big deal that ward didn't fight him?

if he beat froch [or was a good fighter to begin with, which was clearly proven not to be the case and that he was just a hard puncher,] adn ward didn't fight him you'd have a leg to stand on. but you don't.


now, if you want to get on ward for fighting dawson at 168, that's fine. note that dawson asked for that fight at 168, ahd claimed in interviews [i have spoken with his manager and dawson himself on the phone several times, dont care if you don't believe that,] that they would campaign from 168 to HW. if that fight was a half lb over 168 ward wouldn't be able to fight for his titles. and fighters generally don't go down in weight after they move up, so he'd have likely kissed 168 goodbye at a time when his body was still very much that of a 168 lber whose career would be shortened at 175.


there are plenty of reasons to get on andre ward. being an ******* is #1. it's what caused him such long layoffs during his prime. he feels entitled to more than he is owed. you're missing the plot if you want to get on his case for not fighting the guy carl froch beat up. really. slow as piss carl froch beat that guy up to the point that he was no longer a viable TV fight for ward

The thing is, everyone thought Lucian Bute was the white Mike Tyson. The only reason they don't now is because Carl Froch adopted him and beat him like a ginger-haired stepchild. Regardless what has happened since, that will always be one of Carl Froch's greatest accomplishments. You have to remember, Froch was the betting underdog in his own hometown. It could be argued that Froch put a career-altering whooping on Bute. Andre Ward could have easily been in Froch's shoes.

Also, regarding Ward and Dawson at 168. After that fight Andre had one more fight at Super Middleweight, against Delvin Rodriguez. So I disagree with your opinion of Ward feeling a need to stay at 168.

[Cutthroat]

Ward surpassed JC a decade ago, he's got one of the most dangerous resume's in boxing. Compare that to JC, the hardest hitter he's ever faced was Kessler followed by guys you never heard of.

Kovalev-81% KO ratio
Froch-69%
Barrera-68%
Abraham-60%

Green, Miranda, Rodriguez, Brand etc. his resume is lit up with power punchers. Guys like Pac and even Mayweather don't fight such dangerous opponents.

[NYG]

Better than Calzaghe? Thats very debateable lol wtf

[j.razor]

If Ward clearly beat Kovalev why do about 80% off those polled think Kovalev won. That doesn't sound like a clear win for Ward. Why do you call GGG 666? Has he become the devil to you? I think Calzaghe in his prime beats a prime Ward. Ward is a calculating boxer. Joe was a fast boxer who threw a lot of punches from all angles. His style, speed, great chin and high volume punching round after round would defeat Ward in my opinion.

That's cuz most people here on this site are bias that's why I jump in and debate a little and I like the aftermath of the fights I debate....and I call him 666 cuz he did not give himself that nickname and 666 is not the devil, its a little deeper than that.....Calslappy in his prime was neutralized by B-Hop in his 40's....no way calslappy beats Ward any time period. Joe was a fast but not very accurate and I don't know bout his chin, he's been knocked down by 2 fighters in their 40's...what I would love to see is a prime Ward vs prime Hopkins!

[Guest]

I don't think Ward wasted anything at all. Despite having a boring style and not many fans and not much power, he managed to win titles in two divisions. Hell, he even took a 534 day layoff and got to fight bums until he was back on form all the while getting paid good money. His only 3 defeats have been in the courtroom for trying to screw his promoter over but he got over that too and ended up getting paid while doing whatever he wanted.

Wasted would be someone who had the ability but never achieved anything.

I believe Ward has used his skills to the best of his ability.

Since he has achieved everything he can, he should probably retire on top.

[JoeKidd]

Omit talent and you got it right.

[W1LL]

For the record I am a fan of both Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward. That would be a dream matchup, but I believe Calzaghe would take it. Ward could only win if it was in Oakland.

[Cutthroat]

dude you are nuts if you think he's a more talented fighter than floyd mayweather or manny pacquiao, two of the most talented fighters of ever. could have surpassed them? based on what? do you really think he brought more to boxing in terms of talent than either of those two?


ward's got good skills, he's not the boxer that floyd was, or the ass whooper that manny was. he needs to roughuouse, spoil, take shots to come out on top sometimes even against b level competititon.

he's really not that close to the talents of those two, the best of the era. he allows the bikas, barreras of the world to stay relatively in the fight compared to manny and floyd. manny knocked that level of opponent into next week and shortened his career. floyd had him literally not trying to win late in the fight. that's not only because of their skills, but their talents. floyd's reflexes are the best i've seen. believe me, if ward could box liek that from the outside and win cleanly he would. instead he ends up inside and getting marked up. if ward could punch like manny he would. but he can't. so he won't be knocking guys out or breaking their orbital bones in his 9000th weight class.

All fighters struggle to an extent, Pac and May have never fought a P4P ranked fighter like Kov. with his power.

Let's not forget a 40 year old Mosley had May on ***** street, Kov's boxing skills, power, are all superior to his.

Maidana is another guy, B level fighter, most dangerous opponent he's ever faced, we saw a really close fight.

Cotto is also another hard puncher he faced struggled with.

Pac rocked him too.

None of these men posses anything that comes close to the power of Kovalev.

Pac, he's had a much safer route. Most dangerous punchers he faced were Cotto fresh off one of the most brutal beatings in the past decade against Marg.

Mosley 40 years old.

Hatton, fresh off a brutal KO to May.

Marquez-KTFO


Ward has a very dangerous resume with punchers like Kov, Barrera, Froch, Kessler, Abraham, Miranda, Green etc. these lower divisions rarely generate destroyers like the higher divisions.

[-PBP-]

You say stubborn I say smart...skills pays the bills...think about making a living getting punch in the head...besides he came back and is still winning...Ward P4P King unless Floyd comes back...

Very true. For selfish reasons I would've liked to see more though.