Well in that case, how come Ward wasnt rated above Bute before? Then gets rated higher for beating someone Bute beat more impressively years ago. Dosent make sense
For starters, Bika is better now than when he fought Bute. But beating Bika made Ward's resume better, in some way at least anyway. If someone had the two really close before, a win over Bika might have been just enough to push Ward ahead of Bute.
It's all subjective. Ward and Bute are interchangeable at the top at the moment, while Froch also has a case. Kessler injury and inactivity work against him. Happens like this a lot. The last guy is the best guy. Bute gets a win over a credible opponent and he moves up again, and if it is emphatic, he puts a little distance between him and Ward. No big deal to me. It's subjective.
Because after he won The Contender, he was able to quit his day job to start training full time. If you watch his old fights versus his newer ones, it's pretty obvious that he's better now than he was then. He sits on his punches a lot better, and his defense is a lot tighter, for starters.
Good answer! If Bute gets another good win, which doesn't have to be great, he'll likley jump over Ward. :thumbsup
I would agree that it's yet to be seen, but as it stands someone has to be #1 and Ward has beaten more quality guys consecutively (granted I use the word "quality" loosely). He is the guy right now, he took the challenge of the Super Six, he is fighting on the biggest stage with the world watching and deserves credit for doing so.
In that case your only as good as your last fight, and many people didnt think Ward looked good against Bika. Some wrote that they felt Ward lost, but I didnt see an arguement for that. I thought Ward won around 7 rounds, but the scoring was awful
Your rating those 4 wins against these 10 when 2 of them are the same fighters beaten more convincingly by Bute, and remember how Wards fights in the Super 6 have been in Joakland
OK Didnt read the 2nd or 3rd pages of this so if someone already analyzed this- apologies. Bute Vs Ward Records Bute This content is protected + This content is protected + This content is protected = 27 Ward This content is protected + This content is protected + This content is protected = 23 Bute has more wins and KO's so that goes to Bute Bute's opponents overall record 518 w 167 L 23 d Ward's opponents overall record 356 w 68 L 14 d Now this one is hard cause not the same # of fights but lets see.. Bute's opponents have an average win % of 74%. Ward's at 79%. Very close. And if you take out 2 Bute fights (1st and 5th) It swings in Bute's favor. But still... Ward>Bute (slight margin) Now we look at common opponents: Edison Miranda: Bute - TKO in 4th round Ward - UD 119-109 | 116-112 | 119-109 Sakio Bika: Bute:116-111 | 118-109 | 118-109 Ward:120-108 | 118-110 | 118-110 Both of these seem close until you watch the fights. Bute>Ward Overall Bute>Ward
That's not a solid rule anywhere in boxing, just something people say. One doesn't need to dominate every fight to prove their mettle, you just gotta win.