No, that's what people who want to downplay his abilities call him, I called him by his actual nickname, not the one people attempt to bash him with.:good Imagine.
IF he can use his ridiculously long jab and keep spearing him and land some thudding shots from the outside early. As ward gets more desperate, hit him with some big shots. There are a few question marks about Ward because of how dominant hes been so well have to see. A very very tough fight for Froch i wnat froch to win but i wouldnt put money on it. Great post Rob. small point but wasnt Froch also two time ABA Senior champ??
I'm not trying to downplay Ward's ability, he is clearly a quality fighter. He has just had things way too easy in his career.
Other than fighting in Oakland I don't really see where that holds up. People always talk about how he gets his own judges and referees, but how often have we actually seen evidence of that on the judges aspect? When has he ever had a fight close enough to be annointed as contentious? He's dominated all of his opponents extremely impressively fashion, yet people complain about judges. Sure, he bends the rules, but the stuff he gets away with doing are the kind of things plenty of fighters(under-exaggeration actually) do without repercussions. In fact, other fighters actually get plaudits for having such expertise at doing such things, when really they should surely be lammented to the same extent as Ward?
The only time ive had a problem with the judges is when he fought Bika where he won but the fight was closer than they had it(Think they gave every rd to Ward). I think the ref is the biggest problem for his opponents in Oakland.They let him get away with a hell of a lot imo.
I agree with you on the referee's and judges part. But he is extremely lucky to have had all his fights in his back yard. That is why i call him the son of showtime, he has been protected. If he had to go to Denmark to fight Kessler, i still think he would have won quite handily but the atmosphere could intimidate him and throw him off his game, doubt it but you never know. :good
I certainly consider it a mark of experience to pull that stuff off. In that respect, Ward is no different from say, Holyfield. Ward has never left it to the judges, even when he's gone the distance. That says a lot for him, Carl Froch has performed abroad so why not the man that beat him handily, Kessler? Ward is just quality.
Every round was a bit mad)that was one judge if I'm not mistaken by the way, not them all), yes, but so were those reactionary 'fans' who said Bika deserved the decision. I thought 118-110 was the correct score. A lot of fighters get away with a hell of a lot, not just Ward, watch Mayweather-Mosley for a prime example of a fighter getting away with shed loads of illegal stuff. If nothing else, that fight did highlight an awful lot of the illegal infringements Floyd makes in fights. For instance, that high-elbowed guard is all well and good, and is good at narrowing angles completely, but when he shoves it directly into Shane's throat and face, it's not allowed. Bayless is a great referee, but he did miss a good bit of that kind of stuff throughout. He did a lot of head-pulling if Mosley managed to get under a shot. If Shane ducked successfully, Mayweather would pull him in from behind the head, and if the opportunity arose, he'd crack him with a right hand as he peeled away. The forearm to the face thing he does is something I think we all know about as well. Mosley was so pedestrian in that respect, he fell for it every time. Mayweather would push his left forearm to Shane's face, and he'd automatically drop his hands and just leave himself wide open. He does that discreet body-punching too, where he grinds his head against his opponents. As soon as he enabled Mosley to get inside, he'd put his head right into Shane's chin, grind against it, and then sneak in a few sneaky uppercuts, the majority of which were thrown on Kenny's blindside. None of it is legal, but it's effective, and he's perfected it to such an extent that even when it's completely obvious what he's doing he makes it look like such a natural occurance. Yet nobody really pushes all that to the same extent that they do with Ward. Not that I'm insinuating Andre's on Mayweather's level yet, it's just an example of how a fighter at the highest level can get away with plenty of infringments, even with arguably the world's best referee officiating. Ward gets beaten with that stick to a ridiculous extent, as if it's the sole reason he dominated Kessler, and it's the only way in which he fights, ignoring his versatility. It's. Frustrating.
He fought in the Cayman Islands before, which is not only not his backyard, but not even in his own country. People confuse 'every fight' with 'noteable fights', which Ravelo was in itself, even if Jerson has been on the slide, because it silenced a lot of people chastising Ward's capabilities.
I got as far as here after reading this damn fine intro.......timings good too. Perfectly executed build up thread. :thumbsup