I'm fan of boxing and this is my opinion of him. Lets start with the positives of Ward: He fought the best in Super 6 and became the top dog at 168 and his a great athlete, and a Olympic gold medal. Negatives: 1. First and foremost this is boxing and a business: his way of boxing is not the most fan friendly to watch, e.g. hit hit clinch, hit hit head butt, rinse and repeat. Thus not a huge fan-base, klitschkos have a huge fan base in Europe regardless of what of you may think of their styles, this is a luxury Ward does not have. 2. Promotional issues: not 100% sure but if he did sign the long contract he should understand the terms right? Unless he didn't bother to read it, so his suing his promoter twice and now is inactive again. honestly what you expect 3. Jealousy: Lately his always complaining about other fighters not fighting him and he shouldn't chase people. Well the reality is that his not a big draw and his the top guy at 168, not at 160 or 175. So why expect other champions of different weight classes to chase you? On top of that- his promotional issues not helping. He can't change fully his style of boxing and the stoned look on his face. The way I see is that Ward should understand his situation and stop wasting his prime years with the suing and most of all stop with the complaining. The complaining and stoned face does not mix well! His p4p #2 is in danger and he maybe slowly forgotten all together.
Stevenson is there for Ward. Stevenson called out Ward, said he would fight Ward at 168, but Ward refused to even answer him. Ward claims that Kovalev is too big for him at 175, yet Ward used to fight at 175. Ward can spend the rest of his life in court, as far as I am concerned he is retired and a spoiled brat.........
He is the the best in the division so should be calling the shots, or more correctly in the driving seat for negotiations. But unfortunately no one wants to watch him, so to get the fights he wants will need to make consessions when negotiating. If he was as exciting to watch as say Carl Froch then he would be getting massive PPV deals and challengers would be queing up to fight him, but that just isn't the case. He (rightly or wrongly) isn't a draw, is very good and he steadfastly refuses to entertain other fighters wishes. Add all that up and it's not surprising other fighters aren't that bothered.
Part of his problem is the same problem Rigo has. Hes way better than everyone in his division but hes not that pleasing on the eye. Means its hard to find fights.
It's not the same as rigo, rigo doesn't have 3 or 4 huge fights waiting for him in the division above him unlike ward
Really? In the division above Rigo you have. Donaire Lomachenko Walters Gonzalez Gradovic Thats not to mention the fact that he CURRENTLY in a division with Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz
Donaire got his adore beat already and is a shell of a fighter Lomachenko still isn't anyway near established nor are any of the rest of the fighters named Ward is gobshite and and will never be in another meaningful fight
And you know this...how? My point still stands. Rigo suffers from being too good and not having a pleasing style. Him and Ward have the same issue.
Everything about Ward is monotone. His way of fighting, his way of talking, his face expression. But his style works for him and makes him the best in the division. On the other hand he is still nowhere near a PPV star, his bouts are hard to watch, doesn't want to take fights in the higher weight class, says he has noone to fight etc. I think he beats Stevenson and Kovalev pretty easily. If he makes a few smart moves and racks up a few high quality wins he might acquire an all-time great status in the future.
Andre Ward is #2 P4P fighter in the world. His biggest problem is he lacks a competitor that would really make his talent truly shine. I'd personally want to see him develop and use more of a straight right hand to compliment his left hook. He has a great jab that begs to be followed by a strong right hand. When he does throw the straight right he scores with it easily, but then he won't throw another until 2 rounds later. His personality is pretty dull. Had he been mixed with Korean, his dap would be much more exciting.
Nobody in or around his weight class can **** with Ward. His inactivity is the only thing keeping him from the #1 spot.
I agree that Ward could be #1 if he was active. His inactivity is why I think he might be vulnerable to an upset if he actually gets any of the fights he has been talking about.
