Andre Ward vs. Ray Robinson

Ward. Robinson tried to hang at 175 and he couldn't. He even made excuses (or they were made for him) about the lights being too hot.
Ward would have eaten that **** up!

 

Ward didn’t hang around too long either.

 

He didn't but he took on the consensus baddest man in the division and humbled him forever. That's more than SR ever accomplished at 175

 

Ward was 185lbs in the ring. Robinson was still coming in at 147 lbs at 29 years old.

 

Ward would easily clinch victory if his head is in the game. SRR would need balls of steel to get past Ward.

 

Ward

 

Sugar Ray wasn't a LHW, he was barely a MW. I think it quite unfair to even present this hypothetical. Of course Ward would win. Even at SMW

 

I think that SRR knows how to cope with dirty tactics. Andre is also too cautious, he hates being hit which he would certainly be.

The weight problem would be big for SRR but that guy is made of steel, nothing Andre ever saw.

 

Why match Ray with a light heavyweight?

 

He lost the first time and got a dubious TKO from a low blow in the rematch.

 

SRR unloaded combinations to the body of Maxim and they just bounced off of him. SRR is too small to be fighting modern LHWs.

 

Presumably this would take place at 168 ?

 

Robinson had one meaningful fight at light-heavyweight, it was against the world champion and he gave him an absolute boxing lesson.

It wasn't the lights that were too hot, I've never heard that used as an excuse.
The temperature was too hot - just as it was for the referee who had to be replaced and the spectators who passed out.
Yes, it was the same for Maxim but his strength, his 15 pound weight advantage and his more cautious style all worked in his favour.
They would not have been enough to beat Robinson in less extreme conditions.
Maxim only won one of the first 10 rounds.

I don't believe that succumbing to the extreme heat that night can be used in any argument against Robinson fighting someone under normal circumstances.

 

Andre Ward only had one meaningful opponent at light heavy, and for whatever reason the moment wasn't too big for him.
If it was so hot that the ref had to be replaced 5 times, you would think a seasoned pro with as high of an IQ as Robinson would have been smart enough and disciplined enough to conserve his energy a bit more effectively