I think he was elite through the super six and still elite vs Kovalev but slower and less dynamic due to the heavier weight. He was a great boxer but Joe Calzaghe was better. I think some of his tactics not everyone liked and some may consider him a bit dirty but tactical in his approach. I think him and Andre Dirrell were friends and didn't want to fight eachother.
Top Fighter, very adaptable, clever and tough mentally as they come and always in top condition, physically strong. Good speed, decent pop. Dirty fighter though, lots of headbutts and some lowblows, thats because he wasn't a superior puncher so he roughhoused alot of his opponents, he had very good skills but he wasn't usually a much better or faster puncher than his opponent. He's a tough fight for anyone from 168-175lbs, probably top 2-3 at 168lbs. At light heavyweight there are some who would be too much.
As @MVC! Put it Dre and Durrell did not fight each other because they are Brothers! There you have it folks!
Great fighter one of the best of his era. He wasn't entertaining but he was very effective, showed high ring IQ, adaptability and great skills. He should of been a bigger star given his ability but he was a promoters nightmare, every time he opened his mouth he put his foot in it and would give ammunition to the haters. Considering how he turned off the fans it's amazing he achieved what he did and made as much money as he did, his managers and promoters did an amazing job with what they had to work with.
Brilliant fighter and inaugural super 6 winner. A top 3 of all time at 168 in my opinion (Calzaghe, Ward and Roy). Some fantastic wins on his record e.g. Froch, Kessler, Kovalev x2 Skilful, high ring IQ, tough, could fight on the inside just as well as on the outside... on the flip side he was often dirty, some of his fights weren't easy on the eye and he wasn't a big draw. Don't know too much about him and Andre Dirrell. I know Dirrell pulled out of the super 6 after the bull**** he pulled in the Abraham fight and his reasons for not fighting Ward were that they were friends.... Either way, if the fight happened at the time, there would have only been one winner and that was S.O.G
One of the last truly great fighters from the old US boxing program days when Kenny Adams was involved. The best thing about Ward was his versatility. He was never truly great at one thing but could fight on the inside or outside as needed and was a truly complete fighter. Lots of folks don't like him but the fact is he won a tournament against pretty stout competition. On a other note, when you look at these type of tournament winners like Ward, Uysk, Bhop and more recently Taylor they all have one thing in common. Versatility. They can win fights multiple ways and make adjustments based on opponents.
He was a brilliant fighter. Definitely in the category of not what you'd call exciting but very interesting to watch in the sense he was a hustler, a very clever man who could do anything at his craft but nothing particularly great. He was a winner. More for the purists.
+ Great ring IQ + Adaptability + Whatever it takes attitude + Great mental fortitude - A bit too much of the whole A-side stuff for my tastes - still not sure how he managed to swing not travelliung out of the US for the original super 6 - Fairly dirty when allowed to be in Oakland with house refs - see travelling, if he'd fought Kessler in Copenhagen he would have had at least 1 point deduction for head butts, possibly even DQ - His whole style was based around nullifying his opponent however he could, and that rarely led to exciting fights, although they were often more cerebral Ward to me is like a more modern day Hopkins, and would have been a handful for anyone @168 to defeat ( I would only favour RJJ and Cazlaghe as favourites, and would not be surprised to see Ward come out on top in those clashes at least 4/10) I think after the Super 6, his career stalled a bit due to legal stuff with Roc Nation and injury, he probably could have had an even better resume.
Nothing wrong with his resume especially after his victim Froch destroyed the Canadian Bute and Ward went up to Light Heavyweight and took Krusher Kovalev‘S soul.
