Don't overrate Andre Ward; he has weaknesses that can be exploited!

Pascal was nothing special at 168lbs, same goes for Taylor, Dirrell fight was real close and lost to Kessler, sorry but he's clearly not the best SMW.

 

Great post. Bika may answer some or your questions but not much. Ward real test would be vs Dirrell or Bute.

 

There are definitely a few unknowns about Ward although he has looked excellent thus far.

The good news is, the talent is there at 168 to help us find out. If he can beat Froch, Abraham and Bute, I'll certainly be ready to call him the real deal.

Some fighters can go a long time without having to prove these qualities though. How long did we have to wait before we found out RJJ didn't have a good chin? It was only after beating Mosley that people said Floyd could deal with real adversity.

If Ward beats the other top guys at 168 without necessarily proving his chin, heart or athleticism, I don't think that should be held against him,

 

I find this thread excellent. These are some questions for this Saturday fight.

Had Bika enough time to be competitive? The guy has been pretty inactive for 2 years now. His last fight didn't last 3 minutes. He accepted the fight with a 6 weeks notice, which is ok but still a little short. Ward will have to be careful for the first rounds of the fight and I expect him to stay on the outside.

Is Bika better now than he was against Bute?
I don't know. Really.

Is Ward's power enough to prevent Bika to jump all over him? I personnally thik that Ward has enough tools to fool Bika even if he doesn't have enough power to hurt him.

 

Actually i believe he got a lot more fans after the Kessler fight, but i doubt its the same as doubted him before the tournament. I see many posters on here who still not see him as new messias, including myself.

 

Anyone saying without a doubt who is the best of the division is a fool. I can think Bute is the best but he still has to do the job. Same thing for Ward.

 

Yes that was before he not only beat but completely dominated the number 1 favorite in the Super 6, who in turn went on to beat Froch despite suffering injuries against Ward.

 

Well you raise some points but I'm not sure how valid they are. Just because he hasn't been knocked down or out doesn't mean that is a weakness. It just means he's been good enough to circumnavigate those problems at this point in his career. Ward was knocked down early in his career and recovered fairly quickly. It may be some time before anyone can find his chin with a solid punch. I think questioning his athleticism is a mistake however when it's obvious that he has stamina, endurance and enough speed and power to put him in the mix with anyone. He was the olympic gold medalist after all. This alone should be a testament to his athleticism. I believe Pernell Whitaker described it best when he said that "nowadays anyone can win a world title because there are so many sanctioning bodies out there, but to win the gold medal at the olympics is special, it means you are the best in the world."

 

Ward is well-rounded but his only lack is in the power department. I think he's more athletic than he shows but that's a good thing because he relies more on technique, the opposite goes for Dirrell. Ward toke good shots against Miranda & Green so I don't question his chin but I do question what path he'll take after the S6. He will have tests in the S6 since he's sticking around such as against a Froch or Abraham and I'll even go as far as to say Bika though he's not in the tournament. He's a tough fighter that's durable with an awkward style and Ward may not be able to bully him like he did with Kessler & Green so I find this fight interesting. Call me crazy but I look forward to it though not more than I do Abraham-Froch. It's ashame there's no Bute in the tournament but after the tournament I feel Ward may be more tested than Bute and I have to admit this as a Bute fan. He already experienced his first kd and another similarity between him and Bute is that he likes fighting at home.

 

He also has a pretty good headbutt.

 

To be honest who wouldn't prefer to fight at home if they could? The list of great boxers that got their first loss in controversial fashion due to fighting away from hom is too numerous to list. After Pernell Whitaker was on the losing end of acontroversial decision to Jose Luis Ramirez - he rarely ventured out of Norfolk, Va for the remainder of his career.

 

I think it's more that you're listing outstanding questions that have to be answered than actual weaknesses. For all we know, his chin could be his greatest strength, he just hasn't had to rely on it yet.

 

I can't blame him lol. I would love to fight in Maryland every opportunity I could. Hopkins is one of the few to get a draw in another man's hometown though he got decked twice in the first Mercado fight(Hopkins' only kd's BTW).