I'm still startled with Andre Ward. He's ridiculously astute at this stage, kind of like a Bernard Hopkins with a little more athleticism and polished so early.
I think you're falling into the same trap you did with Dawson, mate. Ward is very good and may yet prove himself an elite - but beating Green and Kessler (who is clearly past his best and struggling with his vision) doesn't really tell us enough to anoint him. Green was basically a sparring session.
Why did you have to go there? Chad will come again don't you worry about that. Ward's fightgame is the truth, he's just so polished. His mentality seems to be solid as well and he's got some brillient people around him, like his trainer. Time will tell just how good he is, but i'm sold. Just little things he does that make me think we have a future P4P great, with brillient ring IQ and adaptability on our hands. I've been saying this ever since the Miranda fight.
Yeah - but the fact that Chad just couldn't figure Pascal out is a real worry to me. He lacks the fire I like to see in a true elite. Ward is very good, but I see a few flaws in him, particularly when he leans in. He's no Hopkins, but I do believe he's got the mentality to keep working on his game. Shame he lacks power, but he's definitely one of the best guys out there right now.
I don't really see that as a problem tbh. Some people confuse smothering with leaning in when it comes to what Ward does. Nathan Cleverly leans in, Amir Khan leans in and over extends. Ward blind folds you and then counters on the inside of your lead. Plus he's so accomplished on the inside which is a lost art these days and you rarely see in young fighters now. Hopkins is the one active fighter he reminds me of. It's really a pleasure to watch a young fighter who's so together and knows so many tricks already. Chad has mental issues and some out of the ring problems he has to sort out, but there's still time for him. It was a worry to see Pascal beat him to the punch, make him fight a wrong fight and out hussle him, but i still think he would win a rematch and he's got some big wins ahead of him. He's got too much skill to just wither away. We'll see...
Ward fights too dirty, the guy's like a goat he leads with the head so much. That's probably why he reminds you of Hopkins. I just can't respect that regardless of his skill level.
