This content is protected This video is 100% spot on. If you take away these tactics, he was merely a good fighter. Not a great one.
A video about an undefeated and former gold medal winning American Boxer who was last seen in the ring 8 years ago is being discredited by someone who clearly was just a fan of maybe one or 2 of the opponents Ward beat during his career. No one cares about that ignorant video. To come out an claim he was just a 'good fighter', not a great one is beyond silly. He doesn't have to be your favorite fighter or even one of your favorites, but its a bad look trying to tarnish his legacy because the man you was a fan of, couldn't get the job done against Ward. That dumb video says that his legacy is merely forgotten by the boxing public........YET........the video was created out of nowhere almost a decade after he hung up his gloves..... Clearly he hasn't been forgotten by all........lol.
Andre Ward had no real physical gifts He didn't have an iron chin He didn't hit that hard His stamina was ordinary His speed was ordinary He had nothing special but his boxing was solid, albiet boring. But he achieved what he achieved and it's commendable.
He blurs the line between highly technical, subtle ring craft, and sly fouling. It's not a good style. Ward's legacy is harmed by this and the Kovalev robbery. Part of me thinks that if he'd not been given the Kovalev I decision, rematched, won without controversy, he'd be held in MUCH higher esteem than he is now retired and "undefeated".
Ward did what it took to win. At the end of the day, this is not a tickling contest and punching someone square in the face and breaking their nose is dirty and barbaric. it is up to the referee to deduct points. Mayweather used his elbows frequently, Hopkins hit low, threw rabbit punches and kidney punches, did they not have skills?
Ward’s gold was the result of a robbery. Watch the fight. People are still complaining about Roy Jones being robbed in the Olympics, but Ward’s win was just as much of a robbery. Ward was a mediocre boxer who relied heavily on illegal tactics and dishonest officiating.
Andre Ward was a very good athlete and he knew how to make it count by being a step ahead mentally. He had good speed, good footwork, very good defence, all the dirty tactics to make his opponents uncomfortable. I think there were some very good fighters who had flaws but probably faster and slicker than he was at the time such as Andre Dirrell, Lucian Bute and James Degale who he never fought. He knew that and he knew how to be efficient and dirty to get advantages and win fights. I think there was a short period of time where Degale was awkward enough to have been a nightmare for Ward and I would have put money on Degale winning. I would have liked to see him fight Chad Dawson at 175, instead he fought a shell of Dawson who made the stupid move of agreeing to go down to 168.