Tweet
I think Ward kind of wanted it, on his terms though, as I mentioned previously. I mainly think Ward knew the terms he offered would never work and wanted to act like he wanted the fight and get the attention that comes with making that claim. And Ward was the clear B side with GGG so he had no real room to negotiate. GGG had to offer 168 for Chavez or Froch because they were the A side (and he would get big money in those fights)...he had less room to negotiate...
My point in mentioning the Dawson issue is that it was well documented leading up to the fight that Dawson was killing himself to make 168. He was getting KOd in sparring and I think he had to lose like 9 pounds the day of the weigh in! It was Ward's right to hold Dawson to the 168 agreement but it was an example of Ward refusing to give an inch in trying to make fair terms for a fight. He tried to negotiate like he was Floyd but he wasn't a superstar like Floyd so he cost himself a lot of big money fights.
Case in point with Froch and Bute. Ward beat Froch fairly comfortably imo, but it was a 7-5 win (as 2 judges had it) on my card. Ward pissed away a few rounds by getting outworked iirc. My point in mentioning the Froch rematch and Bute fight is to reinforce that Ward would often refuse to negotiate fairly to get a deal done. The truth is Ward could have made big money fights with them but he would have had to have been willing to fight them on their home turf, something he didn't do his whole career.
You could claim it was a smart move as those fighters could have a won a hometown decision since Ward fights generally go 12 rounds and have limited action. But that isn't the point - the point is that those situations are examples of Ward refusing to negotiate and wanting everything his way. Which is the same stuff he was trying to do with GGG. When you are the B side, as Ward was with all of those situations, you can't negotiate like that and expect to get a deal done.
Man I'm not trying to be rude lol, but I gotta say I don't know if you know much about boxing to say that the A side always makes the offer. That is just factually incorrect. Either side can make an offer and if you really want a fight you can make an offer. Fury/Wilder 1st fight comes to mind. Sometimes even when you make an offer it can be a poor one and be an example of a guy trying to not make the fight. Joshua/Wilder negotiations come to mind. There are a lot of ways to not make a fight. If two guys want to fight it is pretty easy to get a deal done and either side can start that process.
Objectively evaluating the situation GGG has always been a pretty straight up negotiator and Ward has always been shady and a bit of a diva. GGG doesn't fight all of his fights at home or in certain locations; all of his fights have been neutral or usually on the road. Ward has dropped a belt (much different situation than the GGG/Dervy/Canelo situation) and as I mentioned previously has shown himself to be a very tough negotiator. If GGG is much easier to deal with, as you seem to agree with, then if the fight between them didn't happen isn't it logical to put more blame on the guy who refuses to budge, even when he is the clear B side?
To put this situation another way - Froch was the reason why GGG and Froch never fought at 168 (Froch didn't want the fight). Ward was the reason why Froch and Ward never fought (again in the UK) at 168. Ward didn't want to risk a loss and didn't want to relinquish control of the whole process.
My point in mentioning the Dawson issue is that it was well documented leading up to the fight that Dawson was killing himself to make 168. He was getting KOd in sparring and I think he had to lose like 9 pounds the day of the weigh in! It was Ward's right to hold Dawson to the 168 agreement but it was an example of Ward refusing to give an inch in trying to make fair terms for a fight. He tried to negotiate like he was Floyd but he wasn't a superstar like Floyd so he cost himself a lot of big money fights.
Case in point with Froch and Bute. Ward beat Froch fairly comfortably imo, but it was a 7-5 win (as 2 judges had it) on my card. Ward pissed away a few rounds by getting outworked iirc. My point in mentioning the Froch rematch and Bute fight is to reinforce that Ward would often refuse to negotiate fairly to get a deal done. The truth is Ward could have made big money fights with them but he would have had to have been willing to fight them on their home turf, something he didn't do his whole career.
You could claim it was a smart move as those fighters could have a won a hometown decision since Ward fights generally go 12 rounds and have limited action. But that isn't the point - the point is that those situations are examples of Ward refusing to negotiate and wanting everything his way. Which is the same stuff he was trying to do with GGG. When you are the B side, as Ward was with all of those situations, you can't negotiate like that and expect to get a deal done.
Man I'm not trying to be rude lol, but I gotta say I don't know if you know much about boxing to say that the A side always makes the offer. That is just factually incorrect. Either side can make an offer and if you really want a fight you can make an offer. Fury/Wilder 1st fight comes to mind. Sometimes even when you make an offer it can be a poor one and be an example of a guy trying to not make the fight. Joshua/Wilder negotiations come to mind. There are a lot of ways to not make a fight. If two guys want to fight it is pretty easy to get a deal done and either side can start that process.
Objectively evaluating the situation GGG has always been a pretty straight up negotiator and Ward has always been shady and a bit of a diva. GGG doesn't fight all of his fights at home or in certain locations; all of his fights have been neutral or usually on the road. Ward has dropped a belt (much different situation than the GGG/Dervy/Canelo situation) and as I mentioned previously has shown himself to be a very tough negotiator. If GGG is much easier to deal with, as you seem to agree with, then if the fight between them didn't happen isn't it logical to put more blame on the guy who refuses to budge, even when he is the clear B side?
To put this situation another way - Froch was the reason why GGG and Froch never fought at 168 (Froch didn't want the fight). Ward was the reason why Froch and Ward never fought (again in the UK) at 168. Ward didn't want to risk a loss and didn't want to relinquish control of the whole process.
Never, EVER question my boxing knowledge. I was a serious boxing fan when you were just a dirty thought running through your daddy's head.
Comment