You're wrong. And wsup with all this bull**** roy jones comparison? Ward couldnt lick jones' ballsack in his prime. He's more like a homeless man's version of an 04 Bernard Hopkins combined with Hatton and Ruiz.. He's boring and he's not as skilled as some of u make him out to be. He's smart, tough, and foxy but he's far from skilled and he sure as hell aint exciting. TO each is own i guess.
well.... if you at least bother to watch his last two fights and overhear the commentators "compliment bomb" Ward left and right about him having "ALL THE TOOLS" "KIDS A COMPLETE PACKAGE" "HE'S LIKE A JUNK PITCHER - A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT" "HE'S GOT ALL THE INSIDE TOOLS OF A VETERAN" "HAS A WHOLE VARIETY OF PUNCHES" One of those commentators happen to be Antonio Tarver, a highly-regarded boxer himself, obviously. Actually, i DID watch his last two fights on my 73" today! If you dont consider being called "A Total Package", "Having all the tools", "Using a Variety of Punches" not a technician, then your version of a technician must be seriously ungodly.... What is your version of being a technician? Mayorga? this topic gets a.... **GET FraCKING REAL** stamp of disapproval
^^ so u agree with all those commentators huh cuz i almost puked when one of them started comparing him to a young Ray Leonard. ****in joke. My idea of a technician is Marquez, Floyd, or Finito Lopez. Now those are true masters of their craft. NOt no mutha****in Andre ward. Highly skilled fighters dont need to resort to holding and bear hugging their opponents to death..
The Roy Jones Junior comparisons are unwarranted mainly because they're dissimilar stylistically. People overstate how much of the clinching is Ward's fault. Yes, there is clinching in Ward's fights. He doesn't initiate all of them - in fact, I would say barely more than half, all told. He isn't a hit-and-hold type in the Hatton mold - no he is not.
Leading in head first and holding is a big part of his game though. And he seems to be mastering that hold and hit tactic. He's pretty disgusting to watch.
you can't just fight like Ward does if you have poor technique. You will get warned, docked points, caught coming in, countered on the inside and seriously hurt. Ward has success fighting his style against good opposition because he is technically proficient.
I don't think Ward is a technical genius. I also thought the comparisons to RJJ and SRL were cringe-worthy. Ward has tools and has shown versatility in their use. However, I have never heard a "Jack of all trades; master of none" referred to as a technical genius.
Dont put Ward in the same sentence with Hopkins. A young Hopkins in the 90s was an absolute killer, an offensive machine.. He's nothing like how he is today.. U fast forward about 10 years, 04-05, even then ward aint got **** on Hopkins' craftyness. I think young boxing fans nowadays arent used to seeing real fights so they dont have high expectations.
Believe me mate, I've watched more of Hopkins than you have, and I know full well how he operates. Ward's action up-close and overall technical approach is almost identical to that of '02-05 Hopkins to the extent that I'd wager a not inconsiderable amount that the young buck's been watching those tapes.
lol you assume i agree w/ Tarver when he did compare.... nope, i was alluding to him being a champion boxer and him compliment bombing a fellow boxer. To me, that means alot if a top boxer gives him great compliments about his skill. I dont agree with him NOT being a great technical fighter. He's not a classic boxer and does things a bit "unfamiliar" or unorthodox, but its all very technical work. I do agree w/ the miscomparison w/ RJJ. Al Bernstein corrected Tarver on the spot and he was right on the mark on that correction. This is the post-fight conversation - Tarver - Hey, im gonna go out on a limb tonight. This guy reminds me of a young Roy Jones Jr, but he's doing it with better competition. He's dominating better competition. Bernstein - Yeah...and you know, fundamentally, he's a better fighter. Roy Jones, of course is a great athlete, you know it from fighting him. But one of the issues with Roy over the years was that he wasnt as good a fundamental fighter as people like (to think?), that's what Andre Ward is. But thats a very good analogy, i agree. So yeah... Ward's not as athletically dominant as RJJ, but thru his "fundamentals" he comparedly is. Sounds like a pretty dang good technician to me...
