Andre Ward is the American Saviour in the Super Six! He will win the Tournament!

:smoke

 

And once again, Andre Ward represents the savior of American boxing!

:smoke

 

Seriously?

 

I was always overly critical of him during his prime when I was posting on message boards in the mid/late 90s through the 2000s. I embraced a fanboy mentality towards Roy, and while many of my criticisms of him were valid, and while I did appreciate him as an exceptional one-of-a-kind athlete, he was one of the few guys I actively rooted against all the time no matter who he fought (Hamed is one of the few others who fit that bill). So I was once known as a "Roy Hater".

But I appreciate Roy so much more now looking back. I also gained TREMENDOUS respect for Roy when I was ringside... I forget if it was Adamek-Grant, or Judah-Mabuza, but I was blown away by what a cool and legit person Roy was and have liked him ever since.

I also think he's the absolute best fighter commentator in the business today, bar none.

All of that said, I like Ward much more. Andre is one of my favorites in the game today, although I'm not quite as confident about his future as I once was.

 

I think Ward is going to put on a masterclass, putting all the fighters at 168-175 on alert that he's back and better than ever.

And I think the usual suspects will complain and moan, saying he's boring, he's not a draw, he never leaves Oakland, Paul Smith was a joke opponent, Ward's scared of Kovalev and Stevenson, he has his own personal refs and judges, he headbutted Kessler, etc, etc.

:smoke

 

Farmy's posts are awesome! He is the undisputed Heart & Soul of ESB so he can complain about Ward all he wants.

And I don't believe that those hating Ward are limited to Froch fans, although they certainly play a huge role.

Did you happen to see some of the people calling me and Fanning crazy in the earlier posts of this pre-Kessler fight thread?

:smoke

 

:yep

And then some would have you believe that Kessler was kicking Ward's butt up until the time of a few headbutts that people whine about.

:smoke