Andre Ward's attacking Boxing....... I remember watching Ward against Kessler, now something that stuck out in mind, stylistically, from that fight, was when Ward attacked, he would jump in with the right hand, and if he overshot the right hand, he would get himself out of a bad spot, but also take advantage of Kessler's tendency to move straight back. Ward would throw an upjab after falling short with the right, then throw another right hand, he would rinse and repeat this combo at times and he generally always had success with it because! of the fact Kessler goes back on the line like a battered women( hands high) when attacked. At the time I felt that was an effective strategy, but having watched the Bika fight, maybe there is more to it? maybe Ward inadvertently stumbled upon that because of his style, the way he attacks? Let me explain, I felt against Bika, that because of Bika's unorthodox style, that Ward was finding it hard to time him his rhythm, plus, Bika was not throwing many leads, and he was waiting on Ward even though he was coming foward. I felt Ward decided because of this, that he would take the lead, try and create his own offense, only when Ward pressured Bika, he would get to the killzone, and instead of attacking the space by doubling his jab and throwing the right, he would stop and wait, and because of his tentative style of fighting, he seemed reluctant about jabbing his way across the killzone to set something up, so resorted to trying to jump in with the right hand to close the distance, only when he overshot it, he would clinch as he felt he had left himself exposed to a potential counter. Im not sure Ward will ever be aesthetically pleasing to watch on the front foot when taking the lead, I reckon there might always be an element of holding with him, as he uses it to get himself out of bad spots when he shoots and misses with a punch, or when he chooses the wrong time to jump in with his attack, infact I seem to remember at one point, that he got so confident against Kessler, that there was a point where he became wreckless and left himself open by jumping in at the wrong time, and I have noticed this in degrees before from watching Ward pre Kessler. Ward is a bit like Hatton in terms of, when inside, he only wants to get off when he's inhibited your offense by leaning or holding you, so he is safe when getting off, as though its his defense on the inside, now I think this is down to his tentative nature of trying to be too defensive minded at times.
