I was watching the trilogy over again and it popped into my head, I don't really have an idea of Ward as a fighter, if he could be in the top 100 or even near it... Was he a good fighter at his peak? could he have put up a good showing against the best at 140? or was he just good against Gatti and nothing more than a journeyman?
I thought he got wins in a few fights he lost like against Augustus and the first fight against Gatti. He was the perennial journeyman and did well to make a name for himself.
He was a good solid fighter. At his best probably a lower top 15 division fighter, but a tough test for all the up and comers. Zab Judah always said Ward was his toughest fight leading up to the title. Ward just kept coming.
a hardy ******* tough gatekeeper of the division trouble for any ocntender the better champs out class him but just a tough cookie with a warriors heart
could of nabbed a title, poor technique...but then came out of the wood work with that left hook to the head, left uppercut to the body with great precision and timing. emanuel augustus had only been dropped once by a body shot...the face on gatti's face when he took that left hand to the body is like he had just been crucified. slow starter tho. by round five if you havnt won all 5 rounds your in trouble. [yt]11Ke2KMgS2o[/yt] that combination at the end of round 5 by ward is scary [yt]SIw0NsuaPzI[/yt] 0:15
Solid journeyman, lower-level contender. Nothing special in terms of talent and ability, but entertaining to watch. When you think about all the fighters who are underpaid, it's nice when a hard-working, non-elite fighter like Ward gets big purses, like he did versus Gatti.
Boxing needs more fighters like Ward. Ward was a good journeyman with a hall of fame heart. The fans always got their monies worth with Ward.