GGG's only worthwhile opponent is Ward

This is Ward's last 8 fights with Smith being the 8th:

Kessler- The top rated guy at 168 and Ward beat him in his 20th pro fight. Excellent win here.
Froch- The second or third best guy in the division and a future hall of famer near his peak. Ward beat him convincingly. Another excellent win.

Dawson-175 pound champ and a top 10 pfp guy. Ward basically dominated and stopped him. Now the weight is clearly an issue here. Dawson wasn't the same by dropping the weight and that hurts Ward but you can't just write the win off. There's room for debate on the amount of credit Ward should get but it has to be seen as a good win at worst. Ward's legacy would have been greatly improved if he would have fought Dawson at 175 and won the title from him though.

Abraham, Bika, Rodriguez, and Green- 4 guys who were all top 10 supermiddleweights when Ward beat them all convincingly(Bika did the best and put up a good fight). None of these guys were on Kessler or Froch's level but they either have held titles and/or were top 10 contenders for a number of years. Except Rodriguez who was atleast undefeated. No singular great win in this bunch but when added together and with the ease, for the most part, that he won them in makes for a strong run of wins.


It can be fairly said that Ward's been inactive during his prime, would have been much better to face Dawson at 175, and with a number of his opponents(Kessler, Froch, and Abraham) having their own big fan bases his resume would look better if he would have traveled a time or two. But that's about as strong of an 8 fight stretch as anyone in boxing at the moment. Not many have been on a run as good as Ward.