Comments Thread For: Andre Ward's Injury: Roc Nation Sports Sues Insurer For $6.3M

[Eff Pandas]

What about that Franco guy that had brain surgery why isnt roc nation helping that guy??? ������... he actually has a career ending injury

I doubt they had an insurance policy on him. He was just a prospect.

[Premier15]

This sounds like a complete fraud!!

If he suffered a career ending injury how did he have 2 fights within a 9 month time frame but also why was he posting on social media about wanting to make a comeback in the CW or HW division??!! I call bull**** sounds like he's trying to defraud the insurance company for an injury that doesn't exist!!

[sicko]

Roc Nation Trying to Recoup some money after giving him a lot of money and not making any profit from doing so I guess

He got $6.5 Million for the Kovalev Rematch so yeah while he was never a "BIG DRAW" or "PPV SUPERSTAR" he was paid like one!

[gogetter1132]

I have Andre Ward's career in the "what might have been" category. I became a big fan of his when he dominated the Super Six tournament after coming in as a big underdog. Not too long after that he went into "diva mode" and started sitting on the sidelines trying to get out of a contract extension that he willingly signed. Once he became a diva he became very annoying and I started rooting against him. Everyone knows he lost the first fight to Kovalev and he won the second one under questionable circumstances (low blows).

This lawsuit does not stand a chance if you ask me.

[gogetter1132]

Roc Nation Trying to Recoup some money after giving him a lot of money and not making any profit from doing so I guess

He got $6.5 Million for the Kovalev Rematch so yeah while he was never a "BIG DRAW" or "PPV SUPERSTAR" he was paid like one!

Ward was never a draw outside of Oakland so it was a bad deal for RocNation to make. They did the same thing with Cotto. Gave him a ton of guaranteed money at virtually the end of his career.

[Lemonhead_Jeff]

Nooo! Beaten to it!

I couldnt help myself lol

[GhostofDempsey]

Sounds sketchy. I never heard about Ward ever getting surgery for his knee, the outcome of which would typically dictate whether or not he could ever fight again. His knee looked just fine during the fight too. I guess the question is, who defines whether or not his injury is "career-ending"? I'm sure Lords of London will want to see an MRI or have their networked doctors examine him.

[marvin douglas]

I have Andre Ward's career in the "what might have been" category. I became a big fan of his when he dominated the Super Six tournament after coming in as a big underdog. Not too long after that he went into "diva mode" and started sitting on the sidelines trying to get out of a contract extension that he willingly signed. Once he became a diva he became very annoying and I started rooting against him. Everyone knows he lost the first fight to Kovalev and he won the second one under questionable circumstances (low blows).

This lawsuit does not stand a chance if you ask me.

who cares what you think

[Boxing Logic]

So glad 175 is back in the hands of champs who want to stay active and fight the best opponents, primarily each other. I respect Ward's talent but I don't consider either of his only two top level "wins" at 175 legitimate, and it's a mute point anyway since Kovalev showed up out of shape to both fights (which on one hand is Kovalev's fault, on the other hand may be the only reason Ward fought him. That's the perks of having spies in someone's camp, you can get the first hand info whether there's a moment in time they are out of shape and you can beat them easy, or whether to not fight them at all. Remember Virgil Hunter, Ward's trainer, said at the pre-fight press conference that all the vodka had caught up to or would catch up to Kovalev. I think that was before he admitted to the problem publicly. So that suggests they had spies in his camp even for the first fight. Considering Kovalev's trainer almost switched sides for the rematch, it wouldn't be surprising at all), not the same Kovalev as climbed the P4P rankings before Chilemba -> Ward -> etc -> Alvarez I, and not the same as showed up for the Alvarez rematch.

The champs at 175 now, all are as good as Ward in my opinion, some are better, yet they come with not even 10% of the diva in them that Ward had, and they fight more often, and outside of Beterbiev, vs better competition on average, than he did. They also for the most part (just not sure about Beterbiev) all want to become undisputed, and are willing to travel to do it if necessary. That's boxing needs. And even the ones that do only fights cab drivers for the most part, like Beterbiev, make far more entertaining work of it than Ward usually did. All four 175 champs have fan friendly styles. Only ones with even a hint of something less than spectacular in their styles, from time to time, are Gvozdyk and Bivol, but the only time Gvozdyk has gotten an opportunity to fight a top opponent, he and Stevenson both showed big guts and even bigger heart to put on one of the fights of the year in 2018, and Bivol also put in a very very exciting display vs his best opponent, Barrera. Pascal and Chilemba were less spectacular displays due largely to Pascal and Chilemba just surviving behind their guard most the night, but they were still entertaining displays where Bivol landed crisp powerful punches in bunches almost every round.

All of that is good for boxing. All that needs to happen in 2019 are the matchups. Were Ward still holding the 3 belts, the division would probably be on hold for years while he cherry picked some past prime name at cruiserweight or heavyweight, took a tuneup fight in the UK for big money vs some C-level UK name (I think it came close to happening didn't it?), and so on. He'd talk about how he even though he doesn't generate big money, he's entitled to big money, and the other top guys at 175 aren't well known enough yet for networks to pay him big money to fight them (even though it's really him who isn't well known enough to justify HIS salary demands, not them who aren't well known enough to justify their much much smaller salary demands), so he'd drag it out or never fight them.

These guys, they're not going to say "even though it will never generate this, I deserve 10 mil to fight Bivol, or Gvozdyk," or whatever. No, they do fair business instead which is, "Whatever this fight will generate now, I feel I am responsible for 50% of that, or 60% of that, so I want 50%, or 60%, of the fighters pot for this fight, plus my sponsorships and this and that." They will fight up the rankings to earn their belts in the ring, and earn their popularity and money, instead of demanding more than they're worth and just expecting it to happen by magic, even if it means stalling your division for years and ruining the sport across the board one division at a time like this.

The one thing I'll give Ward credit for, after the second gift letting him keep the three gifted belts at 175, he didn't drag the division out anymore than Vegas already ensured would be the case with or without Ward's approval. He retired and dropped the belts right away. That allowed Kovalev, Bivol, Beterbiev, and ultimately Gvozdyk to get their deserved title shots and win the belts, and now it's shaping up perfectly for a tournament. I appreciate Ward for that, anyway, although it's disappointing he didn't fight them.

[Thuglife Nelo]

Interesting, just last week Ward had a conflict with a reporter whom is associated to PBC shilling, it then causes an outrage within the LDBC and low and behold Keith Idec publishes reports at the right time. It benefits the PBC Haymon world against Ward, and it benefits the Pro Duva Anti-Ward initial brigade.

All this surfacing just because Ward identified himself as a Bi-Racial American, who doesnt just believe in “pro-black.”

People need to understand that Ward is bi-racial. By him outlying his opinion for “pro black” doesn’t mean he is obligated to be like Kaepernick or Drake. I’m sure all peoples still watched the Super Bowl anyways.