Does ward need to beat kovalev to forge his legacy?

Just to clarify, when I say "Ward could stop now and he's already an atg..." I'm just setting up damage control because I am starting to wonder if Ward is really going to go through with the Kovalev fight.

Even I realize that Krusher is by far the best fighter Ward has ever fought and it's a tough task to say the least.

 

You need to just accept that Lara is in no position to demand anything of GGG. He's starting to become the new Amir Khan to be honest. Spend years calling out a higher profile fighter without proving he deserves the shot. Honestly, Khan had it harder. He needed to fight a top welterweight to show he was serious. All Lara needs to do is fight a middleweight who isn't a complete joke. Personally, I think Lara would take the fight. However I doubt Big daddy Haymon wants to sacrifice one of his better fighters to GGG. Let's face it. Lara is one loss away from irrelevancy.

The way I see it is this. Only 1 fighter can get a shot at a time and if Lara isn't the best option for GGG at any point then there's no reason to criticize his choice. Yes, Monroe was a joke of a fight. But at the end of the day GGG holds the ibf belt and Monroe was a mandatory. Lemieux had a belt, was a top middleweight, and was more popular. And now Kell Brook steps in as a much more popular fighter who turned weeks worth of painful negotiating time into what was probably the fastest fight negotiation in boxing history. Which to me sounds like a promoters dream come true.

What I don't understand is why people are so desperate to cling onto Lara as some kind of anti-GGG symbol. He doesn't have media and fan backing to push GGG to accept a fight, he doesn't bring any money, on paper he doesn't help GGGs resume. The only thing he has is a small minorities theoretical h2h opinion that he would be the best name on GGGs resume. At the end of the day that opinion doesn't mean anything to anyone except for that tiny minority.

 

:rofl I am sure the guy who wrote that laughed at his own post.

 

No, Kovalev needs to beat Ward. His best opponent was 49 years old.

 

What Middleweight did Brook fight that wasn't a complete joke?

What Jr. Middleweight did Brook fight that wasn't a complete joke?

Hell, aside from Porter, what WELTERWEIGHT did Brook fight? He had a SD with CARSON JONES!

 

We all know ward is great and so is the krusher, but this is one of those fights that truly cements their greatness on another level. Many consider canelo and ggg great but the winner of that fight will be looked at in a completely new light.

 

You should read the post to comprehend the message. Brook didn't demand a fight with GGG like Lara. Brook didn't call him out like Lara. Brook has something to offer, Lara doesn't.

Brook accepted the terms GGG sent Eubank after Hearn presented them to Brook. GGGs team decided a high profile fight against Brook and finalizing the deal instantly is better than restarting negotiations with another fighter and another promoter. It's not a hard concept to understand.

 

It would be like mayweather retiring without fighting pac, You would never hear the end of the stories how pac would have whooped floyd etc, Same with this fight.

 

Ward can be sparked in the first round against Kova and it doesn't tarnish what he's done at 168 at all, so in terms of legacy he will always have that. Beaintg Kovalev would enhance it massively though

 

Personally I think Ward is a very good boxer but not really a legend

What speaks for him is:

+ Gold medal at the Olympic Games
+ his wins in the Super Six Tournament
+ his technical skills

- does a lot of clinching
- besides his two good wins against Froch and Abraham I don't see him willing to fight top tear opponents (I don't count the "win" over Kessler because he obviously cut him with elbows and headbutts)

So I do not consider his resume that good. If he was really great, he would've tried to fight guys like Beterbiev, Stevenson etc. The Kovalev fight will tell us a lot about his supposed greatness.
I have to admit though that I am not relly impressed by Kova's resumee. His fighting style on the other hand is very interesting.

 

ward NEEDs to beat kovalev if he is indeed great

 

He needs the Kovalev scalp and more imo to become a true legend.

Ward has the skillset where we shouldnt be even having ths conversation, its not like he is an avoided fighter either like Rigo.

 

Ward's problem is he has done literally nothing of note for 5 years since he beat Froch. Yes, he beat Dawson the following year, but he was so hideously drained that it does not count as good a win as it should have been.

Since then he had practically been on vacation, long stretches of inactivity and endless "tune ups" fighting lower tier opposition. If he had continued in the same vain after the Super 6 then he would without doubt be considered a great now. But for me, he needs to beat Kovalev (no easy task) to propel himself back to that level then continue with a few more high profile fights to be in discussion for ATG material.

 

That sort of makes my point, doesn't it? GGG's management has said no one wants to fight him, Lara has made it clear he wants the fight, and his promoter just had a stablemate in with GGG 3 months ago.

I guess Brook offers foreign relevancy in England, but GGG doesn't fight in England, he fights in the US and Brook is totally unknown here whereas Lara just headlined a US PPV (with Canelo) 2 years ago.

It's a duck, plain and simple.