One of the greatest careers in professional sports history

[Mr Objecitivity]

Let us know when was the last time Andre Ward beat a top tier opponent in a neutral arena / venue that is outside of his own country of United States of America. Otherwise, all this nonsense about 'overcoming / beating odds' is just that, NONSENSE and GIBBERISH. It's boxers that have to come to USA from abroad that have to consistently overcome the odds like Vasyl Lomachenko, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Ortiz, Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev.

[mathed]

via GIPHY

[HarvardBlue]

The man who overcame the odds time and time again.

-Last lost a fight when he was 13 years old.

-Voluntarily fought at light heavy in the Olympics to avoid fighting his cousin in the qualifier. Thought he would grow into the division but was only able to get up to 170, still took down the monsters at 178.

-Defeated future gold HW medalist Clemente Russo
-Defeated 6'5 Evgeny Makarenko whom hadn't lost in 5 years, a real life David and Goliath bout
-Won Gold in the 2004 Olympics despite all the odds being against him

32 quality fights.

-Barely 6 years and 20 fights into his career he pulled off another huge upset with all odds against him. Dominating his competition from start to finish, at age 25 dismantling and stopping Mikkel Kessler, schooling Abraham, and embarrassing Froch in the Championship despite entering the bout with a severely broken hand.

-Was doubted once again when he was semi-retired, cleaned out 168, ducked by foes at 160, he sought a tougher challenge and moved up, the odds against him yet again.


-Took on a Champion quality fighter as a tune up in Barrera.

-Took on the boogeyman of the division, the man everyone said he'd never fight and he did it not once but twice. Decisioning him the 1st time in a classic Rocky-esque performance, stopping him in the 2nd bout.

Kovalev x2, Froch, Abraham, Kessler, Miranda, Barrera, Green, Rodriguez, Brand etc.

The sheer amount of power punchers this guy has fought, it makes for one of the most dangerous, riskiest resumes of all time.

SOG is the man who overcame all odds, doubted from start to finish, NEVER made any excuses.

Severely outweighed in the Olympics fighting guys 6'5, no problem.

Entering the S6 against killers and very little experience, no problem.

Entering the Final Championship bout against Froch with broken hand, no problem.

Taking on a Champion as his tune up at LHW after years out of the ring, no problem.

Taking on the boogeyman of the division, not once, but twice and stopping him a 2nd time to put the nail in the coffin, no problem.


Guys like SOG are rare, he is truly one of the ATG's, thrown into the fire from start to finish, crushing anything in his way. Could've easily taken an easier path but refused to and chased greatness. One of the greatest warriors and minds in all of boxing, SOG Ward. Flawless 32-0.

A lot folks on here won't recognize Ward for what he accomplished. They'll always be reminded that he beat their favorite fighter and because they can't comprehend the reason he won they started the narrative that he's a dirty cheater. Ward may not be as popular or as exciting to watch as some the other boxers they like to worship but when all you do is win, the only left for them to do is create some fake reasons to hate.

[boliodogs]

He was very good but you are making him sound better than he was. You say he cleaned out 168 and was ducked by foes at 160. That doesn't even make sense. How can a 160 pound boxer duck a 168 pound boxer????? A 160 boxer isn't even his foe. They are in a lighter weight class. His foes are 168 pound boxers his own weight not smaller boxers. He hadn't cleaned out 168 and he didn't hold all the belts 168.There were 168 pound champions he didn't fight. He didn't move to 175 because he ran out of challenges at 168. He moved to 175 because he could no longer make 168 and he said so himself. The majority of viewers thought Kovalev won the first fight in every poll I have ever seen. The KO of Kovalev was not without controversy. Many thought the ref should have been warning him for low blows and giving Kovalev recovery time rather than stopping the fight. I am not saying he wasn't an excellent undefeated boxer with a great record because he was. You are just making him sound incredible and better than he really was. Last but not least he was considered a dirty fighter by many fans and by many of the fighters who fought him. He retired and he will go to the Hall of Fame at the earliest possible time but now some his fans are saying he was a superman just because he retired.

[Cutthroat]

He was very good but you are making him sound better than he was. You say he cleaned out 168 and was ducked by foes at 160. That doesn't even make sense. How can a 160 pound boxer duck a 168 pound boxer????? A 160 boxer isn't even his foe. They are in a lighter weight class. His foes are 168 pound boxers his own weight not smaller boxers. He hadn't cleaned out 168 and he didn't hold all the belts 168.There were 168 pound champions he didn't fight.

When that 160lb boxer says "anyone from 154-168" but refuses to budge, that's a duck. When that 160lb boxer makes an offer when you're semi-retired, at your weakest, but withdraws said offer when you're back at 100% that's a duck.

There is nobody at 168 that could challenge Ward, to this day it's still recovering from when he cleaned out the division.

He didn't move to 175 because he ran out of challenges at 168. He moved to 175 because he could no longer make 168 and he said so himself. The majority of viewers thought Kovalev won the first fight in every poll I have ever seen. The KO of Kovalev was not without controversy. Many thought the ref should have been warning him for low blows and giving Kovalev recovery time rather than stopping the fight. I am not saying he wasn't an excellent undefeated boxer with a great record because he was. You are just making him sound incredible and better than he really was. Last but not least he was considered a dirty fighter by many fans and by many of the fighters who fought him. He retired and he will go to the Hall of Fame at the earliest possible time but now some his fans are saying he was a superman just because he retired.

He could've made 168, he just would've had to drain himself. When have you ever seen Ward come in bone dry to a weigh in, weight drained during a fight? I've never seen it. He was clearly bigger the 2nd time he fought Kovalev filling out into his LHW frame.

The majority of people hated Ward before he even fought Kovalev, the majority hating him after is to be expected. He could've easily retired then, but instead came back and silenced everyone.

Everyone is a dirty fighter once in a while, it's boxing, shyt happens. There were several low blows, shots to the back of the head from Kovalev, but they weren't acknowledged. People focus on any little thing Ward does and amplify it.


Going against the odds repeatedly and winning, that's what the greats do, it's what separates the great from the good.

He had the option of fighting at 165lbs in the Olympics, didn't do it. Weighed 170lbs soaking wet and took down the monsters.

He had the option of staying at 168 his entire career and looking like a crack head at weigh ins, didn't do it.

Had the option to pull out of a championship bout with Froch due to his broken hand, didn't do it.

Had the option of not entering the S6 full of killers at just age 25, 5 years pro experience, took the challenge. Some guys wait until they're 35 to face elite competition from lower weight classes FFS.

Had the option of not moving to 175 at all, not fighting Kovalev not once but twice.

Had the option to pad his record to 40-50+ fights with B-C level opponents, instead took on A level guys 5 years into his career and dominated them.

[Cutthroat]

Let us know when was the last time Andre Ward beat a top tier opponent in a neutral arena / venue that is outside of his own country of United States of America. Otherwise, all this nonsense about 'overcoming / beating odds' is just that, NONSENSE and GIBBERISH. It's boxers that have to come to USA from abroad that have to consistently overcome the odds like Vasyl Lomachenko, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Ortiz, Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev.

Please don't mention ggg, everyone else on that list has had to overcome the odds except him.

Called out everyone from 154-168, refused to budge from 160.

Didn't face a single A level fighter until he was 35, from a lower division.

Has 0 wins over A level fighters and may retire without one.

Canelo on the other hand, 3rd weight class, thrown in with Mayweather, Cotto, ggg in his 1st ever fight against a MW at a mere 27 years of age.

This is what I'm talking about, the greats overcome the odds, the good are content with just playing it safe.

[GhostofDempsey]

This thread is the definition of delusional.

Please explain to us what was so great about Abraham, Kessler, Bika, Green? Kessler was elbowed and headbutted which opened up four cuts on his face. Froch he fought dirty as well. Dawson weight drained himself to fight Ward at 168, and Ward demanded a 172 lb. catch weight for journeyman Paul Smith. He got a gift in Kov I and low-blowed his way to victory in Kov II.

If Kovalev or GGG had Ward's resume you Ward slurpers would be picking it apart calling Abraham, Kessler and Dawson bums. Truth is, Froch was his biggest win, and he had to fight him dirty in order to get that win. Since when is Froch an ATG?

[Eff Pandas]

That hasn't lost since his nuts dropped angle is insane & one of the most impressive things about him to me considering the heights he reached in the amateur + pro game.

[Mr Objecitivity]

Please don't mention ggg, everyone else on that list has had to overcome the odds except him.

Called out everyone from 154-168, refused to budge from 160.

Didn't face a single A level fighter until he was 35, from a lower division.

Has 0 wins over A level fighters and may retire without one.

Canelo on the other hand, 3rd weight class, thrown in with Mayweather, Cotto, ggg in his 1st ever fight against a MW at a mere 27 years of age.

This is what I'm talking about, the greats overcome the odds, the good are content with just playing it safe.

Please don't mention ggg, everyone else on that list has had to overcome the odds except him.

I know one thing with confidence. Which is that GGG (along with all of those aforementioned boxers) have had to overcome more odds than Andre Ward. No doubt about that! Whether GGG had to overcome more odds than other boxers excluding Andre Ward is arguable.

Called out everyone from 154-168, refused to budge from 160.

Except he didn't. Provide the evidence that Golovkin himself (not his trainers or his associates) did such a thing.

Didn't face a single A level fighter until he was 35, from a lower division.

Pure speculation! A level, B level, C level are a matter of personal opinion and as such, I could careless how you rank those boxers unless you can objectively verify it.

Canelo on the other hand, 3rd weight class, thrown in with Mayweather, Cotto, ggg in his 1st ever fight against a MW at a mere 27 years of age.

Right, so you want to pick and choose when you want to consider Golovkin a valuable boxer / opponent. Since Golovkin didn't fight any A level boxer according to you, then why does Canelo fighting Golovkin in his first fight at middleweight be considered anything impressive?

This is what I'm talking about, the greats overcome the odds, the good are content with just playing it safe.

Which is the category that Andre Ward falls under. If he were to defeat at least ONE top tier opponent outside of USA / Oakland, I would've given him the credit he deserves and would've stated that he TRULY overcame the odds and took risks. Unfortunately for him, he did no such thing.

[Cutthroat]

I know one thing with confidence. Which is that GGG (along with all of those aforementioned boxers) have had to overcome more odds than Andre Ward. No doubt about that! Whether GGG had to overcome more odds than other boxers excluding Andre Ward is arguable.

What has ggg done that is more impressive than Ward not losing since he was 13? Winning gold at 178 despite weighing 170 soaking wet? Moving up in weight, coming out of being semi-retired fighting one of the most feared punchers of all time twice?

When ggg and Nelo fought it was Nelo taking on the risk, chasing greatness. Moving up to his 3rd weight class, fighting his 1st MW in ggg.

Like I said, this is what separates the good, from the great, the ggg's from the Wards.

Except he didn't. Provide the evidence that Golovkin himself (not his trainers or his associates) did such a thing.

"Anyone from 154-168" and at the end "Yes I will fight Andre Ward"

Pure speculation! A level, B level, C level are a matter of personal opinion and as such, I could careless how you rank those boxers unless you can objectively verify it.

Jacobs was proven B level when he got steamrolled by Pirog in 5, Pirog was A level but was forced to retire.

Right, so you want to pick and choose when you want to consider Golovkin a valuable boxer / opponent. Since Golovkin didn't fight any A level boxer according to you, then why does Canelo fighting Golovkin in his first fight at middleweight be considered anything impressive?

Canelo has already fought Mayweather, Mosley, Trout, Cotto, and now ggg, 3rd weight class, 1st ever MW fight against ggg, barely 27.

Doing what Canelo did would be like ggg going up to 168 and fighting Ward in his 1st ever fight. That is chasing greatness, he had that opportunity, he could've even taken tune ups, but refused to move from 160 despite calling everyone out. That is cowardice.

Which is the category that Andre Ward falls under. If he were to defeat at least ONE top tier opponent outside of USA / Oakland, I would've given him the credit he deserves and would've stated that he TRULY overcame the odds and took risks. Unfortunately for him, he did no such thing.

Why would the champ fight outside of his country? Ward isn't the type to knock guys out, the only reason people wanted him to fight overseas was because they knew they could rob him.

He fought Froch in New Jersey and nearly got robbed despite dominating him. When you've been on a streak like him since age 13, a flawless career, you do not concede anything because you have earned it.