Hunter: Brand wasn't the first choice. Skoglund refused VADA testing

[BattlingNelson]

The positive in this mess is that we can expect Ward to do random testing for this fight. Something he has said he would do since the middle of the s6 but yet never has.

[MrRolltide91]

Interesting

[Motorcity Cobra]

Its not?


Rodriguez
Smith
Barrera
Brand

When he fought Rodriguez the SMW division was looking like this. Rodriguez had just won a SMW tournament in Monaco with a first round KO against Denis Grachev who had given Bute a run for his money. And Ward was coming off a 14 month layoff from shoulder surgery. Froch and Groves were signed to fight. Bute was injured and didn't fight at all that year. Robert Stieglitz had just fought a month prior. He'd already beat Abraham and Abraham wasn't trying to fight him. Sturm had a fight scheduled with Barker. So who was the best possible opponent for his return?

Smith was his first fight back and he was trying to see what weight he would fight at. Smith had fought and lost to Abraham twice going the distance.

Barrera was Kovalev's mandatory. Good enough for Kovalev but not good enough for Ward?

Brand is what HBO can afford and other fighters turned Ward down.

[joseph5620]

Actually I wouldn't give Ward too much crap for it. Pascal is decent. I would of given Ward more credit for Pascal than Kovalev beating him in the rematch.

Stop lying.

[Mr.Fantastic]

Stop lying.

I don't need to lie bro. That's the truth. It's also pretty fucking obvious. I'm not like these dumb motherfuckers you like to pick on.

Like it or not he was still a top 10 boxer before Kovalev destroyed him in the rematch. Better than all this Brand, Smith, Rodriguez, and Barrera crap Ward has been cherry picking lately.

I'm much more fair than you know dawg.