Well reasoned arguement, just to edit what i said earlier i didnt mean that he hadnt faced good competition, Bika and Green are good solid fighters but they arent enough to put you into p4p top 10 lets be real
Greene,Bika,Kessler, were all top 10 fighters. Abraham is still a top 10 168 lb'er,so if he beats him he'll move up the list. If he goes on and beats Froch and Bute,then Id consider him top 5 p4p,because he will have entirely cleaned out the division.
Ward beat Kessler and that was a very good win. That is the only good one he has on his resume. Making the distance with Allan Green and Edison Miranda and having trouble with Sakio Bika is not making you a p4p fighter. Carl Froch had by far stronger opposition in the super 6 so far: Dirrell, Kessler and Abraham, compared to Kessler, Green and Bika, who was not even a super 6 fighter. If he beats Abraham and Froch, he should have a spot. Not now.
there is a big difference between the top5 in that division and the next 5, so top 10 isnt as important. Plus he hardly looked incredible against Green and Bika. However, if he wins impressively against Bute and Froch then he deserves to be up there mid table p4p definitely.
Fair enough. But for the record Direll spinned circles around Froch and Taylor had to last another round.
Whenever thread on top ten p4p come round, there often seems to be a secondary discussion: do fighters qualify on talent, or on results. If it is on results, then it is too early to put Ward in; Kessler is his only true elite class performance. He seems very talented, I agree, and if he does all the things that he looks capable of then he should crack the list. Certainly, if he wins the Super Six well, that would massively increase his resume. If you go by results, it is impossible to claim that Ward should be top ten but say that Froch does not qualify. Yet I do not think that the P4P list should be based on potential, as boxing history is littered with fighters who should have been great based on talent, but for whatever reason never made it. So I think the P4P top ten should be based on a combination results of fighters currently active, and the talent they have displayed in achieving those results. If Froch and Ward swapped resumes, then a British fan suggested putting Froch in the top ten based on Ward's results, we would be laughed out of town. Yet given the lack of dominant American champions, suddenly Ward is talked about as a current P4P fighter based on beating Kessler and an assumption of elite level talent. Lots of fighters look as though they are going to be great, then don't make it stick. Ward is very early in his career, he has had some ugly fights, he has had some great performances, but only one of those great performances was against a top-level opponent. He needs a better list of beaten opponents, and to perform skilfully against them, to qualify, or boxing will continue to turn off the casual fan. If Ward schools Froch in the Super Six final, then schools, say, Bute, then no question for me, he would be P4P. But I think it is too early right now, you can't put someone on the list based on unrealized potential.
Not necessarily laughed outta town ..... calzaghe didn't do much for years but was considered pfp because of his style and potential ie Ward.
You got it right SimonTemplar However I can't help but get that feeling that Ward is somehow a hometown fighter, much like certain german boxers, you won't fight outside their hometown.
Boxers don't get much money coming up.... most don't have jobs and box full time. When you finally have a name and a bright future it would really hurt to have it taken away from you with a hometown biased robbery decision. It's not worth it for someone like ward or Bute. At some point you have to do it though but it shouldn't be for a belt you hold. You fight the champ at his terms and location.
After all the money showtime have sunk into the super6 do you think theyll show it on delayed play in the US????? Itll be in Las Vegas with all the glitz and the glamour.
Dont get me wrong i would love for it to be here. Id be able to afford to go if it was but its just wishful thinking