Don't put Dirrell in the same breath as Ward. Ward went in there and fought, while he used some tricks to help defend and ensure less damage such as his holds, he actually went in there to dominate first, defend second. Dirrell was defend first, defend second, back away third and throw a punch fourth. I think we just saw the proving point of a great young champion last night and someone who should now go on to do the types of things the "greats" of the generation just passed (Jones Jr, Calzaghe, Hopkins, Holyfield) did in terms of his ability to win big fights, do it at multiple weights and be a dominant force in any division he settles in.
Ward is ****ing explosive. He has power in both hands and can throw combinations out of nowhere. I forget which round it was, but he landed an unbelievable right hand on kessler that had him seeing stars.
Ward has a stiff punch but he does not have too much power. He has respectable power. He out jabbed Kessler..lol and his was stiff as a mother****er. Just paused Kessler so many times. Just straight up stopped him in his tracks as a jab is supposed to.
And you can do the research. I said a long while ago that Kessler has the ugliest looking left hook I have ever ****ing seen and it was on display in all its ug. Dude needs to loosen up. lol
All i can say about Ward is i hope Dirrell whoops his ass.... Dirrell needs the win and id love to show himself the superior in there, not a big fan of Ward anyways although i agree with you Freddy he showed exactly what boxing is about (besides the fouls) and is a good example for all these people that think running is the 'sweet science' that no, you dont have to run and pot shot to box effectively, it can be done with ring generalship, mastering the distance, throwing nice effective COMBINATIONS and using backpeddling to set things up and make things happen.