Would you agree that Sakio Bika was Wards toughest fight so far?

he's just a whinger.

only a sook would complain about it.

 

I didn't hear one mention of Bika last night from anyone. I know that wasen't in the super six but I thought it was interesting. Yep he definatly pushed Ward the hardest (apart from Darnell Boone, who I thought clearly beat Ward, but that was a young Ward so whatever).

 

bika second best super middle in the world.

 

I thought Calzaghe, Ward and Bute all did about the same against Bika.

I hard Ward winning 118-110, Bute 117-110 and Calzaghe 117-110.


I think Froch and Kessler were tougher for Ward.

Keith

 

you know where you can watch the Calzaghe Bika fight. i know ****** had the rights to it and was never able to see any more rounds than round 3 on the internet.

Bika's a dirty *******, not someone you would look forward to fighting even if you win every round he'll still headbutt, elbow or low blow you.

 

100% true.


Keith

 

i was shocked how easy Kessler was for Ward. i know styles make fights and all but it really did surprise me. i think Ward had the opposite of hype early in his career due to his vunerability. but he got real slack for it more than khan did before his knockout against Presscott after getting hurt by guys like Limond and Gomez and even Cotto when he was at 140 etc.

 

Yeah for some reason, that one punch early in his career ended up defining him for a long time. Instead of people focusing on the fact he got up, while badly hurt and fighting to a win, they just focused on the fact he got dropped.

No one has dropped him since, or even come close.

Keith

 

I thought Kessler would beat Ward bc of his inexperience. On paper it was his toughest test but Bika was his toughest one in the ring. The fact that Ward managed to discourage Bika made me understand how mentally tough Ward is.

 

I tipped Kessler to win too. I picked him to win the whole tournament. I had no idea that Ward would be this tough and this versatile.


Keith

 

Since the Ward / Bute comparisons have been flying over the past 24 hrs...

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282755
(includes vids)

In the first rounds of both fights, Bika threw the odd haymaker. For Bute, each one was a distinct opportunity to duck and counter, or shake the legs off by using lateral movement. For Ward, each one was used to close the distance and lean in on Bika whether using the head or an elbow. In fact, with less than a min left in the 1st round, Bika complains to the ref about an elbow.

In round 10 of Bute-Bika, Bute eats the odd jab but counters most of what Bika attemps. He's able to stick left hooks to Bika's body, which he often does coming up from ducking. In round 12 of Ward-Bika, after Bika rocks him with THREE decent rights on the INSIDE, he SMILES at back him and transfers weight to his head by leaning onto Bika left EYE SOCKET, and Bika gets Kessler-blind for a sec at just under 1 min left in the fight.

"What a motherless mother****er", thinks Bika.

One thing I noticed generally speaking: reaches are similar for all three, except Bute looked considerably taller vs Bika than Ward did. And Bute is 6'2", Ward 6'1".

Ward spent a great amount of time in the pocket clinching, shoving the odd elbow, unleashing powerful rights as soon as the break was ordered by the ref. That same amount of time was spent by Bute displaying creative footwork to get away from range and reload. By the time Ward had landed a right and a left in the clinch, Bute had re-established his stance and had jabbed, ducked, landed a big left.

BOTTOM LINE: I think Bute fights better off of the backfoot than Ward does coming forward. Bute's most developed shots & abilities are effective when he's given an opportunity to counter, and no way in hell is he the aggressor if they end up fighting each other. Kessler's aggressiveness was the perfect matchup for Ward's handspeed. I think Bute masters range in this one and times Ward on a consistent basis for a wide UD or late stoppage.






Oh and in that thread I linked, from January 15th 2011, I'm calling for Bute-Ward at MSG in March. Say it happens in April at MSG, that's a close one. :smoke

 

Ward had a very hard fought close fight with him. Bute's fight with him in terms of the action in the ring and the scorecards was a very wide and comfortable win. Trying to use those ridiculous oakland scorecards to try and claim it was close is pitiful. Anyone can watch both fights and know what reality is. You're a joke

 

Bute-lickers abound! Please, bring back the *******s!

 

Bika is a physical beast. He makes everybody look bad, he has no skills whatsoever. But because he is insanely strong sometimes he imposes his game on people.

 

Darnell Boone