Does Andre Ward really have alot of say in fight location?

the guy won a gold medal in Greece. Nuff said.

 

I believe Ward should have to come out of Oakland at least once in the tournament and this is the time to do it because of Abraham's following in Germany. I don't think it's going to make a difference, however. Ward is going to go in there and do his thing.

 

He makes a decent amount of Money fighting at the Oracle, more than what he would make fighting in Vegas or Atlantic City usually. Though the Super Six Finals with Froch should take place in AC to leave no doubt about who won and why.

P.S. Find me a location 3000 miles away from Froch's hometown in the UK before I hear this crap about it having to be out of the US.

 

Ward refused to fight in the tournament unless he got "all" his fights in his home town with his personal referee and judges. He always gets his way. Why didn't all the others get that huge advantage?

 

And??? That's neutral territory unless he fought some Greek fighter (maybe he did, IDK).

 

If it was Ward vs Dirrell final then a neutral american city would be fine but if its Ward vs Froch then it should be a neutral COUNTRY. When fighters sing their anthems before big fights its never a Oakland special anthem or a nottingham, its the american and english anthem. Despite what we might think and like , anywhere within these fighters home country would still be like a homebase fight if it was an important final vs someone from a different country.

 

Wasn't Ward-Dirrell supposed to be in Detroit? Or was that scheduled for Oakland also?

 

do you have a source (credible or otherwise) for that assertion?

 

I was about to say exactly the same thing, yet to see someone provide an answer.

I am of the opinion that all these big fights should be held at a geograpically neutral venue. Fed up of seeing bias in boxing, simple as...

 

I agree with you about the neutral venue. If it were so easy to hold all fights in Geneva or Helsinki ...

But regarding Kessler, really, did you see the fight with Ward? Kessler wasn't doing very well.

It's hard for me to see it going differently in Helsinki (even being a Scandinavian country, favorable to Kessler).

 

I don't think the fight would have gone much differently had it beed held elsewhere, but you can never say for sure considering the fouls Ward was committing and getting away with would most certainly have had a negative impact on Kessler's mentality. Had they been upheld, he may well have been deducted a few points and Kessler may not have felt so hard done by and perhaps been a bit more confident in his ability progress with his fight plan, without the drawback of illegal headbutts not being recognised by the officials.

Ovbiously with regards to the monetary implications involving venues, US will always be the preferred venue for promoters etc, but personally, I rank fair officiating above capital. I preferred Froch vs Abraham being in a neutral venue, even though it meant I couldn't go see the fight myself. It's always the case that when a fight goes to a decision and your in someones hometown, there'll be post-fight discussions regarding the scoring of the bout and the potential bias of those involved with the officiating.

It's plain BAD for the sport...

 

Not after he has fought all 3 fights at home.

He needs to fight one at someones hometown at least then the final yes should be neutral.

 

Knotty, I keep hearing about the fouls in this fight. There were head-butts.
But a head-butt is not a foul unless it's deliberate. Head-butts are an unfortunate aspect of boxing and they happen all the time.

So do you have reason to believe that Ward intentionally head-butted Kessler? If so, can you point out the round so I can see for myself?

Do you think Ward should have been disqualified for these (intentional?) head-butts? Deducted a point? Two points?

 

It didn't even get that far. Even though the fight was weeks away the first time around, before it got rescheduled and Showtime threatened them with legal action, there wasn't even a venue.

It was pathetic. There was never any intention for Dirrell and Ward to fight.