Watching Ward's pro debut is painful

First of all: I do not hate Ward. I root for him vs. Froch and I find him to be a nice guy outside the ring.
...But in the ring he must be one of the dirtiest fighters I've ever seen. I think most of you get sick hearing this over and over again. Ward fans might even curse me .
I must say I was hugely disappointed when I (just) watched Ward's pro debut, vs. Chris Molina, in 2004. This guy came after a great performance in 2004 Athens Olympics. Why he resorted to those tactics and why he was so "over-enthusiastic" is beyond me.

Please watch the fight as it is not a long one and pay attention at the 3:43.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMDguYEUy2w[/ame]

So then it is no surprise that Ward got this status. There is nothing to debate on that video. He is holding and punching that guy. What it should have happened, IMO, is that the referee should have immediately deducted a point. The fact that he got away with it so many times, but especially the first time, played a huge factor in what he became: an incredible fighter with a dirty attitude inside the ring.

I still root for him vs. Froch, Dirrell and even a Kessler rematch.

 

Yes, he got tangled up. Like in holding the adversary's head and punching tangling. A very illegal and dirty kind of "tangle". Even the referee comes to Ward corner in-between rounds and tells him not to pull that kind of tangle anymore.
Anyhow, it is not the fact that he played dirty with that guy that I wanted to emphasize. It's the fact that he is dirty in his pro debut. It's like he was "born" like that. It was not a tactic that he "adopted" in time but a necessary thing. For Ward fighting dirty is like breathing pure air.

There is nothing else but a disqualification that will make Ward change his style.
It's a pity that a DQ hasn't come sooner as now he is unpleasant to the eyes of many. Also, it shouldn't come now, when he has fights much more important.

 

Yeah, right. Talking about different perspectives....
But isn't it a bit weird that all Ward's adversaries are head-butting, holding and fouling Ward when they face him? I mean people always seem to fight dirty when they face such an honorable and fair-play fighter like Ward. It must be that Ward gives the impression he's too much of a nice guy and people try to capitalize that asap.