Who do you feel is Sullivan Barreras biggest win?

It seems Ward going up 3 pounds to face #23 ranked Cuban is somehow big thing and huge step and achievement. Relatively speaking fans are demanding Rigondeaux and Golovkin jump 2-5 times bigger leap to fight naturally bigger guys.

In short, boxing fans are the weirdest fans of all.

 

Well a few things,
A. He's had a solid amateur career and has that great Cuban pedigree.
B. He's an undefeated fighter that hasn't tasted defeat.
C. He's bigger and more powerful than Ward.
D. He deserves to be in there with a talent with Ward considering he's the IBF #1 contender for Kovalev's belt.

All that combined with Andre Ward's inactivity and perhaps not being what he used to be 5 years ago can be for the making of an upset.

Ward-Kovalev may not happen if Ward loses today, and there's a chance it won't happen if Kovalev takes another fight before Ward, then I think Ward would as well and therefore pushing their fight to 2017.

 

... and you may add other fighters to that list like Abril before Brandon Rios or Salinas vs Quigg. Those Cuban fighters are amount the most avoided fighters in boxing today and they are only fighting at their Level when they become or mandatory or champions, for others like Dorticós or even Rigondeaux the definitive fights are not comming even if they are in mandatory positions, see current manouver to avoid Dorticós as mandatory for Lebejev, or Frampton vacating instead fighting Rigo.

 

I believe Lebedev Ramirez winner will have to make his first defence against Dorticos which should be a great fight. I don't think it's a problem that sanctioning bodies prioritize unfications over mandatories.

 

I do think that if a desicion is made (e.g. Lebedjev has to fight Dorticos next as mandatory and as the WBA estipulated) then you may only overrule that desicion if you reach an agreement with the other side ... that was not the case ...

 

Murat I guess. He's still a prospect and moving his way up the ladder. That's probably why Ward chose him after those pushover oponents were all dismissed by HBO.

Ward is the favorite of course, but I think Barrera has clearly more as just a puncher's chance.

 

Murat...until tonight

 

Is he really bigger than Ward though? Ward actually weighed a bit more at the weigh in, although that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

 

Only problem I have, when Barrera was talking about fighting his mandatory Kovalev, people called him trash. Now Ward is fighting him, he's a real threat. The reality is he's not a top 10 LHW, I could name 10 better. He is a solid guy though.

 

This. Sullivan is the shortest 6'2" guy I've ever seen. He looked barely an inch taller than GGG.