Andre Ward vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi at 175

If there's an argument for Ward, I'd sure as Hell like to hear it, cause I don't see it...

Qawi gives Ward a beating. Just a level above IMO.

 

Ward UD12

To slick, he might not have power but he has the feet and smarts to outbox Qawi and he usually had good concentration.

 

Not only do I like Qawi to win this. I would absolutely LOVE to watch Qawi beat the arrogant Ward right out of his comfort zone.

 

The thing is, you NEED power to keep prime Qawi off. That's why Spinks beat him - cause the Jinx hurt Qawi and kept him honest. Well, on top of the fact that Spinks was also a masterful boxer - a far better one than Ward. Spinks was also much bigger than Ward.

I don't see Ward doing well against the greats at 175.

168 is a different story - I think Ward would do well against any super middleweight not named Roy Jones.

But plenty of light heavyweight greats beat him.

I'm not sure if I would pick Ward over a prime Virgil Hill, tbh.

 

I think Wards too dirty, big, slick and just a plain poor match for Qawi.

Ward would jab and keep the distance between them how he liked whilst landing some good shots. He'd most likely be clinching alot and probably holding behind the head.
Qawi would just be how he was and keep coming forward. But I think Ward would deal with him. By pawing his jab and setting up his crosses to build points, running most of the night and keeping his hands up to avoid Qawi's hooks. To me it comes down to who can create opportunities and control the distance better. And that's Ward. His "body" shots on Kovalev were generally pretty vicious and would keep Qawi honest imo.

It's a close fight but I think Ward takes it by doing what he does, but at his absolute best all night. And to be honest he didn't really show that he could do that at 175 so I wouldn't really argue or take issues either way.

 

I'll add that Qawi's jab would be a huge problem for Ward. Kovalev showed in the first fight that a well timed jab can disrupt Ward's rhythm.

Ward never had to worry about those things against a robotic guy like Kessler, or against a crude oaf with no skills like Froch.

 

Not always, I don't think Spinks would be the best boxer Qawi faced if he faced Ward. He was brilliant and his footwork was good enough to outmanoeuvre Qawi. He'd be able to keep him off with just better skills imo. But not always and not with absolute effect, it'd be a Kovalev type affair where the rounds are debatable who you give them to

See above. I think technically Ward is better than Spinks. Just not as quick, powerful, big or strong.

Neither do I. Especially against the elites. but I don't think Qawi fits into that category. He was smaller and less effective than other greats at 175. I'd pick the best Kovalev to beat him if I'm honest

I agree again.

I don't know I've not seen much of Hill. Just him getting stretched with a body shot by Roy Jones.

 

Kovalev beat Qawi?

Oh dear Lord....

 

Kovelev was a very good boxer, good chin, very good power with an excellent jab and very good footwork. He has all the tools to beat Qawi

It's not like I'm absolutely certain, sort of 60-40.

 

i am pretty sure Qawi would trouble Ward stylistically as well as physically.

And I am positive that the best version of Qawi stops any version of Kovalev.

 

I don't know, but it would be worth seeing. Two skilled tough fighters who wouldn't have to look for each other but both have good defense. Since it is a best vs. best, both would be in condition so it's going to be close and there is going to be some good inside work. I wouldn't want to bet on a winner.

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I've seen nothing from Ward that suggests he could deal with the aggresive but controlled pressure Qawi was capable of . Qawi was a lot like J.Frazier, he was hard to land on cleanly and was great at countering off an opponents combinations. Qawi also had an underrated but excellent jab for his height limitations . Ward would need to hurt Qawi and make him cautious. But Ward didn't have the type of fearsome firepower that would make him cautious . I believe Qawi would force the ref to stop the fight after a prolonged bad beating of Ward after 6-7 rds .

 

Qawi was a monster at light heavy.

Great defense, long reach, power, skill, IQ, awesome jab and the vicious mentality to go with it. He also has a real solid resume at light heavy.

He beats Ward, who did not prove alot at light heavy in comparison to Qawi. He's a bad stylistic match up.
Ward will NOT be able to manhandle him, and he doesn't suffer in reach, added with his pressure style. I think it might be a late stoppage, as Ward slowly becomes more and more defensive and shelled up.

 

Kovalev would have his hands full with James Scott, let alone Qawi.