Remember when people thought Bute could beat Ward?

Better performances against common opponents, IBF belt, undefeated record(at the time), career high payday, chance to COMPLETELY clean out the division and unify titles. All that wasn't enough to "earn" a fight with Andre Ward.

Before the Super6 final Froch AND Ward both acknowledged that the winner should fight Bute. In the post-fight interview, Ward turned into a promoter/manager when asked about fighting Bute.
During the Super6, Dan Goossen was ready to pull Ward out of the tournament when there was talks of adding Bute as a substitute.

For whatever reason, Team Ward didn't want any part of Lucien Bute.
You fanboys just have to deal with that ****.

 

this is a debate you cant win
bute had to beat froch to become a serious player at SMW, because it would be the first time he fought a world class SMW

he lost, ran back to Canada, and was never heard from again

that's what happens when you milk a paper title and pad your record with tier 3 fighters
ward won the super six tournament by beating the best, making him the successor to joe calzaghe. bute couldn't earn his shot at him, so he doesn't get it

 

No, Ward thought he was the smartest guy in the room, and his ego cost him a payday and a chance to clean out the division. Bute was the #2 SMW at the time.
You notice Ward is nothing but complimentary when talking about Chavez Jr.
What has JCC Jr done to "earn" a fight with Ward?
Watch Carl Froch get the fight made with Chavez Jr first and snatch another payday from Pepe Le Pew.

 

you can take any federations rankings you like and credit bute with a number 2 rating, you can also try and legitimize a belt that does not make him anything more than a paper belt holder
but there is one thing certain in life - if you are good enough to fight the king, you earn your shot

all you're doing is being a bad sport because the hype surrounding bute was just that - hype

chavez can get big fights because he has a strong international profile and fan base. casual fans don't know bute because they have never seen him fight, except maybe against carl froch
all his other exposure has been at home, where he has been making good money fighting poor opposition
its a common problem in boxing, and the same thing that happened to bute also happened to Nathan cleverly. don't buy the hype until they prove themselves...you're still buying it

 

I wonder why Ward didn't accept to fight Bute when Bute said he would fight Ward in Cali ?

Why Ward didn't accept that easy big money fight in his hometown with his personal referee, judges and his little crowd ?

I say styles make fights and Bute is a good boxer. Probably Ward watched several times Bute vs Bika fight and he was thinking that Bute would be a wrong fight for him.



"It's not true that Lucian Bute only wants to fight in Montreal. I said to Ward: I am ready to go home in California, if necessary. Ward could never say he is the best super middleweight if he has not fought against me. " said Bute.

"C'est faux de dire que Lucian Bute ne veut se battre qu'à Montréal. Je l'ai dit à Ward : je suis prêt à aller chez lui, en Californie, s'il le faut. Ward ne pourra jamais dire qu'il est le meilleur super-moyen s'il ne s'est pas battu contre moi."

 

bute had done nothing to earn a direct shot at the champion
that super six tournament took a long time to unravel and decide calzaghe's successor.

bute wasn't about to be handed a free shot at ward when nothing on his resume demanded it
bute had taken the path of least resistance and it burned him in the end if he expected a free pass

 

I'm not even a Bute fan. I'm just pointing some things out about Ward.
Who did Ward beat to "earn" his fight with the champ,Kessler? Shelby Pudwill?:rofl
Bute must not have been viewed as some "paper champ" by Ward. Otherwise, he would've kept his word and completely cleaned out his division. Easy work and a payday in Canada, right?
Ward's best win before the Super6 was Edison Miranda. He didn't win that fight by spectacular KO either. He had every fight in the US and only 1 outside of California when everyone else had to travel.
Ward talking about what other fighters need to do to "earn" a fight with him is laughable.
He is a fighter, he is in boxing to fight other fighters. Don't say "boxing is a business, doe!" either.
Passing up on an "easywork" career high payday against a "paper champ" is a horse **** business decision.

 

there you go, crediting paper belts again...
calzaghe was the champ, ward became his successor

there was no 'champ' in between, which is why all parties were happy to partake in the tournament - because an undisputed champ would emerge

 

What a great successor to Calzaghe. Won't travel to fight an "easy work" "paper champ". Everything turned out better than expected.

 

i'll tell you a secret...
if a fighter makes his name in the US, he gets big fights

 

Not if that fighter has a horse **** style and people don't want to waste money watching it.
I'll tell you a secret...Andre Ward has no fans.

 

good thing he's world champion then
i'd hate to think your crusade on bute's behalf was all in vain

 

It's not a crusade on behalf of Bute.
It's pointing out the fact that Andre Ward is like 10lbs of **** in a 5lb bag.

 

it sounds like you're envious to me
earn your shot at the champ by beating top contenders

 

The fact is your boy didn't want any part of an "easy work" "paper champ" "hype job" etc.