Quite right Bridie,I can't stand Ward after he head butted Kessler to defeat,blatantly forearm smashed another boxer who I can't remember & in the first Kovalev fight bundled him to the floor,then kneed him in the head & then tapped his knee.He knew he lost the first Kovalev fight & his reaction when he got the decision was like winning the lottery & don't get me started on his fake,humble son of god family man crap! It's a shame that he choose to act in this manner as he was clearly a talented boxer & no doubt one day be inducted into the BHOF but he'll NEVER be loved like Pacquaio,Ali,Tyson etc!
Popularity goes through the roof when one does a number on Paul Smith and beats Carl Froch. The man took Krusher's soul in his prime and retired undefeated with a decent CV
He was a very hard watch at times but I admired his spoiling work and the way he took his opponents tools away. Technically, he was a very clever fighter but I think he retired at the perfect time. When you look at that light heavyweight division right now, with Bivol, Beterbiev, Gvozdyk, you’ve also got a taller Ramirez moving up and potentially Callum Smith soon too...you don’t want any of that smoke. I think he knew it was a flip of coin win over Kovalev in first fight and in the second he had to punch him repeatedly in tezzers to get him out of there...I just think he recognised he was quite possibly on the slide. Will go down as a Hall of Famer with legacy intact.
I think Bellew could beat Ward at cruiser if the fight was in UK and the ref was Terry O'connor, lot bigger than ward too. Ward vs Joshua is a good joke from Ward! Has everyone laughing that one
I know m8 I forgot how much I despised him tbh! Don't get me wrong outside the ring as a pundit/commentator I don't mind him but he was as you say fortunate to retire undefeated.his signature moves were the octochoke,forearm nose buckler,ball breaker,and the bonce battering ram.he was ruthlessly efficient in the ring mind you and got away with murder in numerous fights.
That's why we pretty much how I see it with Ward. I can't say I was ever really a fan and he suffered from all of the stuff outside of the ring. I was actually hoping he'd stay on a little longer because I think he was a defeat waiting to happen but, like you said, he knew he was on the slide and got out of there.
Agree that Ward got out at the right time and everything about how ruthless he was in the ring. Very smart fighter. You've got to remember though that he moved up a division to take on Kovalev effectively in his prime and the size difference to me was noticeable in both fights. Ward was a small LHW in the end. Bare in mind that Kovalev is widely considered to be one of the best LHWs in the history of the sport also. Living rent free in Frochs head for life also. Very good career.
It’s absolutely remarkable that the last time Ward lost he was 14 years old. Also was interesting to hear him talk about his dedication to being a good pundit with Jim Lampley as his mentor. It’s awful that no one has picked up Lampley since HBO left boxing.
I really like Andre Ward. Very intelligent guy, inside and outside of the ring. Yes, he wasn't always pretty to watch, but I admired how he always found a way to win, could adapt and negate his opponents' strengths. Moving up to LHW to take on Kovalev was very bold and it paid off, albeit with two controversial wins. He's also one of the best pundits/commentators out there IMO.
I assume it's Lampleys decision not to go to another broadcaster. DAZN, ESPN and FOX are severely lacking in quality announcers
Ward had a very frustrating career. He's got a very legitimate claim to be the best super middleweight of all time having beaten a prime Froch, prime Kessler, destroying Dawson and beating the likes of Abraham, Bika, Miranda and Green without ever looking much like losing a round never mind a fight. But there's a four year gap in his career when he should have been nailing down big fights (he was pretty much everybody's consensus third best fighter on the planet at one stage behind Mayweather and Pacquaio), and nothing emerged. A real waste. The Kovalev fights made up for this in a way, but despite such a great career there's a big element of the 'what if's' about Ward. That said, based on his opposition, I'd have him above Calzaghe. The Bellew fight would have been interesting. For all the fat lad from Liverpool who got lucky schtick that Bellew pulls he found ways to win and was probably more a natural cruiserweight than Ward was a light heavyweight never mind bigger.
