Andre Ward vs. Andre Direll

Andre Ward is the more seasoned fighter at this point. He has of late fought like a world class fighter. When he dictates the fight with his jab, he is very effective.

A guy who has improved leaps and bounds since earlier in his career, and who hasn't lost a single round, in dominanting all of his recent opponents.

Dirrell looks better, is flashier and more exciting perhaps, but IMO isn't on the same level yet. With time he could be though, although he needs to be more consistent, and still tighten up his game. I wasn't as impressed as others were vs Hanshaw, i still saw plenty of flaws that could be exposed.

This fight would be something like Mayweather v Judah IMO. Judah more talented although Mayweather with the overall better fighter. Mayweather being Ward and Judah being Dirrel for the sake of the comparison obviously.

This may change in time though...

 

that's corny lol

 

was it just me or does anybody else remember Dirrell getting stunned quite a bit in the first two rounds or so against Hanshaw?

 

I agree 100%. I think Dirrell is a MUCH better prospect than Ward, even though Ward was the better amateur.

Dirrell's chin ain't all that great either, but he has a higher reward defensive style, is quicker and rangier, and has more one-punch power in both fists. He's also beaten tougher comp than Ward.

As for who's more exciting, anyone see Dirrell-Stevens? Dirrell isn't necessarily an exciting fighter. He had to prove that he could be watchable after that decable, so he probably brawled with Hanshaw more than he should have. Still, he has shown that he knows how to fight on the outside and keep the other guy from catching him. It's just a matter of him finding the balance between the Stevens fight and the Hanshaw fight.

 

Care to elaborate on this? I get the feeling you haven't seen much of Dirrell. Throughout his career he has made a lot of mistakes, simply relying on his natural speed and athleticism to win fights. As a pro, he makes FAR more amatuerish mistakes, especially when compared to the Andre Ward who has appeared in his last 5 bouts.

Higher reward defensive style? What does that even mean??? He is a very sloppy defensive fighter, who relies almost totally on offense. He over extends on his jabs, is often off balance when throwing, leaves his chin exposed and doesn't show good head movement when counter punching.

Beaten tougher comp than Ward... hahahah good one. His opponents have all been crap apart for Stevens (exposed since fighting Dirrell) and Handshaw. Wards last 4 opponents have had a record of 75W, 6L and 1D. COmparatively Dirrell's are: 70W, 55L and 10D. That speaks for itself. Not to mention Ward has faced undefeated prospects and experienced fighters like Rubin Williams as well.

This last bit is crap... Your basing him being an effective boxer off one fight, where he ran not boxed, and fought terribly. The guy all throughout his career has been an exciting offensive fighter. Someone who comes forward, using speed and athleticism, with combination punching to get guys out of there. His brother was known for the one punch power, not Andre also, not sure where you gathered he had one punch power either as said earlier in your post.

He won't fight at a balance in between the Stevens and Handshaw fight. He is an effective offensive fighter, that is his style. People think because of his great speed, and unorthadox technique that he is superior to Ward. But Ward has been extremely dominant in recent times. He has been far more dominant overall against his last 4 opponents especially, and has not lost a round. Not only this, but he has fought each time at a world class pace, and has shown an ability to break guys down and control the fight.

 

I have seen Ward fight only once and that was against Ravelo. He dominated that fight and looked damn good.

I seen Andre Direlle fight twice the first against Curtis Stevens. This was one of the worst fights i have seen in awhile. He did look good in Hanshaw fight, but i still cant let go of that first fight.

From what i have seen and i understand my knowledge of the two is limited i have to go with Ward being the better fighter.

 

Exactly. Most guys here are coming with only a knowledge of Andre Wards earlier career, and Dirrells very recent career. If they had more extensive knowledge of both guys, a lot of opinions would change.

 

In terms of prospects, you need to look at tools and how well the fighter is developing those tools. Ward was a more finished product to start, and he's still a more finished product, but he hasn't improved as much as a pro as Dirrell has, and he has less natural talent than Dirrell. Lower ceiling, but a greater chance of reaching it. Best case scenario for Ward: wins a belt or two. Best case for Dirrell: P4P type fighter. Worst case for Ward: Perennial contender. Worst case for Dirrell: fringe contender who loses at unexpected times. At least that's how I see it. I guess if you rate a prospect higher because he has a lower chance of flaming out, then I can see how you would rate Ward higher, but I don't rate guys that way.

Sorry, I'm short on sleep so I'm not clear. He has better reflexes than Ward, and his defensive style allows him to utilize them to counter guys more easily. Yes, he does rely on offense, and his defensive style suits that.

At the respective stages in their careers where they fought, Hanshaw and Stevens are both better than either Williams or Ravelo, whose best days are long behind them despite being relatively young. Everyone else they've faced is just development time.

You see it your way, I see it mine. I don't see anything all that special in Ward. I think he'll be good, but I doubt he'll be great.

There are plenty of great fighters who have learned how to incorporate both an exciting and unorthodox technique with learning how to get away effectively. Mayweather and Guzman immediately come to mind. He's shown he can learn in the past, there's no reason to think he can't learn when to incorporate different things he's shown at the right time.

As for Ward's opponents, they've been hand-selected to be guys with poor speed and poor reflexes. I question whether he's look any good against someone capable of defending themselves. There's plenty of time for him to prove me wrong still.

Lastly, I'm not basing these opinions only off their recent fights. I've probably seen about 6 or 7 fights of each, since their fights have been televised so frequently, and I remember them both as amateurs (although I don't follow the amateurs closely).

 

This post is fair enough for the most part. Dirrell's competition has been average though, Wards not much better, but still ahead slightly. Dirrell hasn't performed better as a pro either. He has been more inconsistent, and overall has seemed more flawed. Ward has progressed far more.

A lot of this is subjective though. I like the fact that you admitted such in your post.

Ward is still very fast, and has been very slick in his last 4 fights especially. Still with a tonne of potential. The difference to me is that Ward is a more effective fighter than Dirrell. Although yes i do agree Dirrell has more natural ability with slightly more speed and power overall.

Regardless, i will be watching both of these guys with great interest. Best case scenario would be to see both guys make it and face each other later on. I like both of them personally!!

 

dirrel freezes when the pressure is on. Ward is faster with better reflexes. Ward will win this one off of counterpunching alone.

 

I'd pick him to KO the chinny Dirrell. Something about Ward seems off, even though he has a really good skillset and physical quality's.

 

Ward continues to look good, if not a sure-fire titlist in the way that many regard Gamboa or viewed Mijares in the recent past.

To me, Andre shows more dedication than Dirrell, who although the more talented fighter, has more holes. Although I can't quantify it, Dirrell to me appears to lack great ring awareness. Whenever I watch him, the fighter who comes to mind most is Kendall Holt. Not that Holt is a bad fighter, mind you, he just seems like someone you can't really trust in the ring.

Ward appears to be more mentally adaptible, and the extent to which that can change varies. Andre certainly has made great strides since his early fights and seems to have worked very hard on professional techniques. Dirrell gets by on talent and, at some point, he'll need to demonstrate that he has a foundation.

But I like both fighters and expect both to make some noise on the major boxing networks. Can't have too many good young fighters.

 

:good

 

I agree that Dirrell's brain/inconsistency is his biggest liability. He picks up on things from fight to fight, and doesn't repeat his mistakes once he's had a chance to review tape, but he doesn't learn well during the course of a fight, and I could see a lesser fighter exploiting this to get him to repeat mistakes and win a fight. Not too different from Paul Williams in this regard.

 

Ive never been big on Dirrell. However, Ward is destined to be a star in and out of the ring.