A 43 year old version of Bernard Hopkins was not in any way miles better than Andre Ward. Looked for a way out? He took on a prime version of Kovalev after being inactive and he beat him both physically and mentally. You're questioning Andre, yet Joe is the guy who starved himself to fight a guy like Mario Veit twice instead of moving up to LHW years earlier. We can't even be certain that Joe would have taken the fight, let alone have beaten him.
Ward was not a poor man's Hopkins. And where does a minimum clear U/D come from? He didn't get a clear U/D over Reid. Nor Hopkins. Nor Bika. Joe was a great fighter. There's no doubt about that. But picturing a clear U/D over Ward is a fantasy. If the fight had happened it would have been very close. Andre was an elite fighter. Joe never held a clear easy win over an elite fighter in his entire career.
He went crafty, it was hard to get off on him at the stage when Calzaghe fought him, I believe Joe beats him in a tight clear fight
Bit harsh maybe As in maybe a tko late lol, if not a clear UD Hopkins had more than one off night himself ****in hell mate, so you understood me then lol I never said that, it could be clear, but easy, no chance..They both are clearly 1 and 2
It was a very good win for Joe. It was his first big fight against a legend of British boxing. But we have to note that Eubank had left the SMW division, he'd not had a win there for 3 years, he had to go on a crash diet to make the weight, he had no southpaw sparring, and he couldn't do his roadwork because he had bad knees which he needed injections in. Of course, despite the above, he had the heart of a lion. Which he again showed in the Thompson fights. But we can't just dismiss the circumstances. He was already faded and he couldn't beat Collins 3 years earlier who wasn't an elite fighter. So personally, I couldn't class it as a great win.
Yet you write all this, call ward elite for fighting Calzaghes leftovers and ward never held a clear easy win over an elite fighter or if we go by what you are saying with Kessler or Eubank not being elite then ward never even fought an elite fighter All by your logic of course Loudon self pwning again lol
Joe beat him when thay were both old & would have beat Roy when he was younger. Roy wanted no part of Joe & he knew he'd lose.
Did well? How so? By being taken out in a round by Danny Green? By being knocked out by Lebedev? Obviously you're not familiar with his career. He was only capable of winning at a low level. He was no longer an elite fighter.