So, Ward wants 3 tune ups...

[-MEGA-]

ggg wants to collect checks fighting tune up's without ever having to face Ward. HBO is cool with it though...

[daggum]

ggg wants to collect checks fighting tune up's without ever having to face Ward. HBO is cool with it though...

ggg tries to fight everyone in his division. ward doesn't. that's why hbo backs him. why can't you understand that? ward is moving up and needs 4 tune ups yet you complain that ggg wanted to fight froch with zero tune ups and won't fight ward straigh away? seriously? contradict yourself much?

[daggum]

the ward-roc nation lawsuit will be a beauty. i can see it now. roc nation saying how they had many good fights lined up for ward but he simply wouldn't take them. same exact thing happened the last 4 years yet ward fans pretend ward is trying to fight the best. very strange denial going on.

[mathed]

ggg wants to collect checks fighting tune up's without ever having to face Ward. HBO is cool with it though...

Come on Mega, Ward is too big for 168, this is obvious. Him singling out a 160 pound fighter is not what a P4P fighter should do, bottom line. He is trying to weasel his way out of fighting Kova at 175 but he wants HBO to cough up millions for his fights at 175, this is why they haven't announced anything official regarding the undercard on the Cotto card. HBO will give him a tuneup or so but they want a guarantee that he will fight Kov....he is stalling on that end, he doesn't want it.

You can't fault GGG for trying to unify the division that he has fought in since he turned pro. He doesn't have trouble making weight and he has big things headed his way.

Ward is the one who needs to decide where his career is headed. If that involves fighting a 160 pound title holder then he needs to realize that a compromise will be needed in order for make that happen, bottom line.

[-MEGA-]

ggg tries to fight everyone in his division. ward doesn't. that's why hbo backs him. why can't you understand that? ward is moving up and needs 4 tune ups yet you complain that ggg wanted to fight froch with zero tune ups and won't fight ward straigh away? seriously? contradict yourself much?

First off, Ward already cleaned out his division

Second, I've never once made that argument. (That I can recall) I wouldn't care if he said he needed a couple fights at the weight and they could do it at the end of 20 whenever. But that's not in ggg plans though...At all.

HBO backs ggg because of the KO's and would be doing right by him to steer him clear of Ward as to not upset the apple cart. Which is weird cause I actually give ggg a fair shot of beating Ward. (But he won't)


ggg wants to unify the division...ok, I get it. But he's been a belt holder for almost 5 years now I believe. He's never gonna get quillen or Jacobs in the ring and I think cotto would just vacate rather than fight ggg honestly. Canelo would probably fight him but not for a couple years I bet.

ggg has yet to face a true world class elite fighter and probably won't step in the ring with one or unify until he's damn near 40 at this rate.

[Evil Abed]

HBO is in the process of trying to finalize a three-fight deal with Ward, which is contingent on Main Events and Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports, Ward's promoter, making a deal for the fall showdown between the two fighters.

The deal between Main Events and Roc Nation is on course, Duva told ESPN.com.

"I can tell you we are having great conversations," Duva said. "That's the fight I've been saying all along is inevitable. Our talks are continuing, and they are very amicable."

If the fight is made, and therefore Ward's deal with HBO is finalized, he would move up to light heavyweight and appear in the co-feature of the HBO PPV card headlined by the much-anticipated fight between middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 21 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The second fight of Ward's deal would probably take place between February-April, followed by the big one with Kovalev next fall, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. HBO declined to comment on the talks.

So two tune ups. Than Kovalev. According to Dan.

[-MEGA-]

Come on Mega, Ward is too big for 168, this is obvious. Him singling out a 160 pound fighter is not what a P4P fighter should do, bottom line. He is trying to weasel his way out of fighting Kova at 175 but he wants HBO to cough up millions for his fights at 175, this is why they haven't announced anything official regarding the undercard on the Cotto card. HBO will give him a tuneup or so but they want a guarantee that he will fight Kov....he is stalling on that end, he doesn't want it.

You can't fault GGG for trying to unify the division that he has fought in since he turned pro. He doesn't have trouble making weight and he has big things headed his way.

Ward is the one who needs to decide where his career is headed. If that involves fighting a 160 pound title holder then he needs to realize that a compromise will be needed in order for make that happen, bottom line.

I agree that Ward should be looking up a weight class rather than down. IMO that's how you seek greatness. But this is supposed to be the boogie man of middleweight's boxing right now. Not some ho hum 160 pounder. Not to mentioned ggg team said Ward is "easy work"

IMO Ward knows he's going to be moving up and wanted to get this settled first, and why not? You really think he's gonna go to 175 and not fight Kovalev? I think we can all agree that that's gonna happen. If not, I'll be going in on Ward too.

[Jubei]

So what was Paul Smith fight then? It was at Light Heavyweight and it was against a fat unmotivated guy who lost his 2 last fights and who got blasted out by George Groves in 2 rounds.

[Barcham]

So two tune ups. Than Kovalev. According to Dan.

There is not a chance in HELL that HBO would book a tune up fight as the co-feature to the Cotto - Canelo PPV and give Ward a piece of the PPV money, which was another one of Ward's demands which was left out of the Fat Dan article.

Golovkin is headlining a PPV and Ward wants to prove that he is also a PPV draw by trying to slide in to a co-main event position that he has not earned against a bum or Smith's or lower quality.

Not gonna happen. HBO is not that stupid. They already rejected his tune ups as did Showtime. They will not accept sub par opponents no matter if he says he will fight Kovalev down the line or not. Do not forget that Duva and Kovalev's team would also have to be in on the negotiations of such a deal.

[mathed]

I agree that Ward should be looking up a weight class rather than down. IMO that's how you seek greatness. But this is supposed to be the boogie man of middleweight's boxing right now. Not some ho hum 160 pounder. Not to mentioned ggg team said Ward is "easy work"

IMO Ward knows he's going to be moving up and wanted to get this settled first, and why not? You really think he's gonna go to 175 and not fight Kovalev? I think we can all agree that that's gonna happen. If not, I'll be going in on Ward too.

I hope so but basically the HBO deal, regardless of number of fights, is all about a Ward-Kov fight, that's all they really care about because it means big money. The fact that it is taking this long to get something concrete just seems like Ward (or his people) is stalling. I hope Ward gets his stuff squared away quick because seeing him step up would definitely be a good thing and could maybe change my assumptions about him but he has started to develop a track record that states the opposite. All I know is that the card next week will be a great one and I'm looking forward to it.

Hopefully Ward can find a legit opponent for the Cotto undercard that will increase the value of the PPV buy.