Unfortunately for you Dre did not lose. Won the first fight on points and stopped Kovalev the 2nd time and took his soul.
Just a natural winner, not the fastest, not the strongest, not the quickest, didn’t hit the hardest, but was better than the sum of his parts. In football, there is an an old adage “first five yards in their head” meaning that they could could read things a little bit faster, had a better understanding of what was happening before it happened, is a description I think fits Ward quite well, he just saw and understood the pattern of the fight before his opponent did and capitalised on every advantage he saw. Very clever, well schooled fighter.
I remember Hopkins saying they would never fight each other and Ward agreed. They had similarities in style both could be pretty dirty but I think Ward was the stronger man although he wasn't a big puncher he could clinch and rough house fighters best shown in his fights with Froch and Kessler. At SMW he is top 3 in a head to head JC being No1. His ring IQ was excellent but I think Joe would outwork him. With the very best you get adaptability he could adjust but at SMW he could gass a little in the later rounds making me think he was a natural LH.
Note I said even better - Ward has a great resume, but his period of inactivity (over 18 months) between 2013-2015 really messed up his momentum I think. Sandwiched between beating Froch to win the the original Super 6 in Dec 2011 and then taking on Kovalev in Nov 2016 - nearly 5 years is the following fairly poor run:- + Chad Dawson (Sept 2012) - a good win on paper, but I don't give it much, Dawson was mad to come down and was skeletal. Ward should have moved up here IMO, and he would have had a much better win with no asterisk next to it, especially given his next fight @168... + Edwin Rodriguez (Nov 2013) - meh + Paul Smith (Jun 2015) @175 - moving up Ward was entitled to a tune up, but I think he could have done better than Smith + Sullivan Barrera (March 2016) @175 - decent win, but Barrera was nothing more than a gatekeepr @175 + Alexander Brand (August 2016) @175 - better activity, but meh What amounts to a fight a year, and very slim pickings in terms of resume IMO. That's what I mean that Ward could have had an even better resume if he had maximized his potential and momentum after the Froch win.
I always liked him and thought he was quite good, but his resume has not aged well, so I don't think that we will ever quite know his zenith. Retired an undefeated, two-division guy, and that is not an everyday accomplishment. I did think that Kovalev won the first fight, but to be fair, Marciano and Mayweather also have similar suspicious fights. So does Fury. I understand he has a nagging injury, though I don't know the full details. I am not sure of the Dirrell reference.
