Ward: It's easy for Calzaghe to say he can beat me from the comfort of his couch!

What I read of it - though I may be completely wrong - was that a purse was agreed upon by both parties between Hopkins and Calzaghe for a fight in 2003 but before it could be signed Hopkins discovered that the majority of the money he thought he was going to make was actually going to line the pockets of Don King and his lackies instead, so he came back and tried to renegotiate a bigger purse for the fight so that he could get a good payday out of it but in doing so he asked for more than was viable for the fight at the time.

 

Pretty sure it was Froch who took care of the undefeated #1 ranked SMW and the #9P4P while Ward wasn't interested in the fight.:good

 

I think that was it, and it was part of a 3 fight deal in 2002. Also Hop was at 160 then, and Joe was pretty unknown. I wouldn't say Hop specifically ducked him out of fear of losing, otherwise he'd never have fought him in 2008.

 

I think Ward was willing to fight Bute, but not straight after the super six. He deserved a break, and he said he was letting he fight build up. I think Carl threw a huge spanner in the works. I'm sure Ward would already have fought Bute now, had Carl not destroyed him.

 

I dont think Hopkins ducked Calzaghe in 2002/2003 either, but he did price himself out of the fight when it was all but signed and sealed, that it was a problem on Hopkins end that stopped the fight from happening, so the statement I responded to about how Calzaghe "wanted no parts of Prime American greats" is not strickly true.

 

Yeah I agree the problem was at Bernard's end. But it gets spun as though he deliberately priced himself out to avoid Joe. But again, it was part of a 3 fight deal.

The thing I never understood, is what weight would they have fought at? Bernard was at 160, and he never showed any desire to fight at 168, and we know he bypassed it in 2006 to go straight to 175.

I just couldn't imagine him putting on weight to fight Joe, who without being disrespectful, was really unknown then outside of Europe. The U.S. fans had only seen a handful of his fights, and he hadn't really caught the eye. He wasn't a big name who could entice Bernard up for his title, so I never understood it.

 

Carl derseved a break as well TBF

 

Yeah of course, but I think Carl was in a different mindset. Carl's a warrior and he was bitterly disappointed with his fight against Ward. So he was ready to go again, and he took out his frustrations on Bute. He was really up for that fight.

Andre on the other hand, had just won the tournament pretty easily, and he'd injured his hand, and he was looking to take it easy for a while.

His plan was to have a few lesser fights, like the Pavlik one, and let the Bute fight build up.

I don't think many people expected Carl to blow Bute out like he did.

I honestly believe that had Carl not gone through him, Ward would definitely have fought him. I think it was definitely in the pipeline. At the end of the day, for whatever reason, Bute didn't enter the Super Six.

I don't believe for a second that Ward was ducking him.

 

this isn't true. it's a "message board fact." hopkins backed out of a three fight contract with showtime in which calzaghe would have been the second fight of the three. hopkins ended up getting more money with the hbo deal. people that say hopkins ducked joe are incredibly stupid. first off, hopkins DID fight calzaghe and plus, in 2002 when bhop backed out of the showtime deal, calzaghe was a nothing. hardly a blip on the radar.

btw, ward crushes calzaghe. when joe was ward's age, he was struggling with reid and thornberry. ward has already won the super six and beat the reigning light heavy champ. joe has got a lot of heart and will fight til the end but ward wins a wide decision here imo.

 

Agreed.

In any case, Andre UD Joe :bbb

 

Calzaghe is too great of a fighter for Ward, at this point in Wards career.

 

Ward would out point Calzaghe and some of you guys would be in for a big, big shock at how one sided it would be.

Calzaghe himself knew his limitation, it's a shame his deluded fans don't too.

 

Calzaghe made Hopkins practically cry like a girl, never forget the way that racisct gutter rat was crawling around the apron yelping like a lame old sow...

 

SOB Ward will only fight in his home town, with his referee and judges. Calzaghe came to America to beat Hopkins and Jones.

 

If Calzaghe was nothing, what would you consider Carl Daniels and Morrade Hakkar?