Ward To Sign 3 Fight Deal w/ HBO @ LHW

You really only get to play that card if Ward fights Kovalev or Stevenson in first fight at the weight.

People wanted Ward in GGG's first fight at the 168, no warm ups.

Ward just had a light heavyweight fight, so it's actually cutting him slack to give him that leeway.

 

Have you got proof of any of that because thats not how I remember it. Ward didn't fight for a long time after the super 6.

Bute went straight into a Froch fight which means negotiations began not long after the tourney was over. Bute had no interest in Ward

 

Ward never told Bute to go fight any Froch.

 

I had no issue with GGG taking a tune up fight at 168 as long as he agreed to fight Ward down the line. Lastly you're crazy if you don't think Ward fights Kovalev in those 3 fights. The only things that would derail that fight is if one of them loses.

 

Yeah. I doubt HBO would have even offered him the deal without the stipulation that one of those 3 fights would be against kovalev

 

It's even worse.

Bute offered to go to Oakland because he was desperate to prove he wasn't a fighter who was afraid to travel and wanted to fight in the U.S.

That's also why he was so willing to go into Froch's back yard. May not have been the U.S., but nobody could say he was scared to fight in a hostile environment.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/7372586/andre-ward-lucian-bute-bout-looks-unlikely-time-being

For the record, I think Ward would've taken him out clearly. That's why passing on a name fighter coming to Oakland was a boneheaded move- just look at how that win skyrocketed Froch's stock. Could've and should've been Ward.

 

Exactly!

 

That, I can respect. :good

 

This article makes it pretty clear what both fighters intentions were at the time. Bute only signed with Showtime knowing the winner would also be signed with Showtime, he clearly wanted the winner. Ward was more interested in a rematch with Kessler after a break.

As for the speed of negotiations it sounds like even before the final Bute's team had approached both Ward and Froch in terms of a future fight, so chances are they already had much of the details already ironed out.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/7372586/andre-ward-lucian-bute-bout-looks-unlikely-time-being

 

From the article I posted before.

"Rather than talk up a fight with Bute, Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) instead tried to play matchmaker, suggesting that Bute face the vanquished Froch, who has trash-talked Bute and riled up his Canadian fans over the past few years."

 

It was an idiotic move no doubt. He would have unified the major super middleweight titles, meaning all challengers would have had to come to him, he would have been harder to avoid. Also it would likely have been Ward's first PPV fight, something he has wanted for a while now.

 

Wards response to that was:

Why make a two fight deal with Froch if they wanted Ward? They thought they'd beat Froch , then do the fight again in Canada?

Why not beat Froch then go after Ward?

 

Ward admits in that statement that Bute's team made the offer and he declined because he wanted the break and told Lucian to fight someone else.

Basically, Andre blew him off.

Froch should be sending him fruit baskets for Christmas in perpetuity for that gift.

 

HBO will not give ward any deals they don't trust him as a fighter.They know all his tricks.Ward needs to make amends with a lot of people.

 

He made the 2 fight deal because Ward had said he was taking a break from boxing, one which lasted almost 9 month. Did Ward expect Bute to sit and twiddle his thumbs while his hand healed and took and extended break?

Also he clearly told Bute to fight Froch, it was a 2 fight deal only if the one who lost requested a rematch and it doesn't mean Bute couldn't try and fight Ward afterwards. You really can't spin this any other way. Why was Ward so surprised Bute did what he did when he was simply doing what Ward had told him to do?

I mean what kind of crazy logic is that? It's like when a woman says it's OK to go out with your mates and when you come back she's angry you went out with your mates, frickin batchit crazy woman logic, that's what that is.