Andre Ward is one UGLY fighter to watch

That it all.

The Hopkins comparisons are a joke. B-Hop in his prime was able to take guys apart in a much more aesthetically pleasing style(see the Johnson and Tito fights).

Bring a pillow for Ward-Abraham. One guy who only knows how to fight ugly, and the other who apparently doesnt know how to throw punches PERIOD.

In fact BOTH semi-matchups are gonna be boring. Froch will just box old man Johnson, and Glen is too old, and slow to make anything happen.

Just skip to Froch-Ward, and get this goddamn tourney over with!

 

Funnily enough I've always had a soft spot for Hopkins, until the Calzaghe fight where he turned into a bitch.

I actually find a lot of Hopkins a joy to watch. Sure he can be a bit ugly and dirty, but there's still a VERY high level of skill and craft and cleverness in there to offset the dirtiness.

I agree with you, the comparisons are a joke.

Ward is disgusting, he is more like Ruiz, but a Ruiz that headbutts more.

 

Somebody shoulda shot the Showtime crew for comparing him to Leonard, and Jones during the Green fight.

 

The showtime crew were actively lauding his underhand tactics. It is sad state when boxing is reduced to state of feudalism as it is with Ward/USA/Showtime.

Not of course, that this hasn't happened elsewhere.

 

REED Actually Came Away More IMPRESSED than Ever w/Andre Ward, Last Night...

Sakio Bika is TOUGH, GRITTY, AWKWARD, PROUD & HARDPUNCHING...Well, Andre Ward "OUTbika'ed" Bika Last Night...After Unsuccessfully Complaining to the Ref about Some of Bika's Tactics Early, Ward Took Matters into HIS OWN Hands...

Out of the Ring, Ward Plays the Cordial, Religious, Family Man Role to a "T"...IN the Ring, he's a FIGHTER, in the Truest Sense of the Word, who has No Problems Getting his Hands 'Dirty" so to Speak, in the Name of Victory...Andre Ward was Cut Along BOTH Eyes & it Took him til about the 4th Round to FIND Himself in the Fight, but he Showed an Inner TOUGHNESS that Belies that "Pretty Boy" Exterior...Instead of Playing it SAFE by Staying on the Perimeter, Ward BOLDY Went Into the Trenches w/a STRONGER, Dangerous Foe....& he Got the BETTER of it...

To Anyone that Saw how Ward Fought as an Amatuer, THE LAST Thing U'd Expect from him as a Pro is a WILLINGNESS to Fight on the INSIDE (a LOST Art in Today's Boxing World)...But There it Is...It Speaks VOLUMES about his Versatility...He's Also Got an ELITE Level Left Jab & a SHARP (if Not Powerful) Left Hook & Lead Right Hand...

There WASN'T a Whole Lot of STYLE from Ward Last Night, but there was BOATLOADS of SUBSTANCE...



REED:mj:

 

Nobody is saying he can't fight, he can. But my god is it ugly. He makes Hopkins look like Pacquiao.

Ward just holds and headbutts constantly. He's tough and he knows what he's doing inside, fairly strong physically too from the looks of it, but he is an outright cheat and horrible to watch.

 

He's a great inside fighter.

He's also a no-power cheating bastard that holds and hits like a cunt.

 

He'll beat Froch wide.

 

A CERTIFIED Roberto Duran Nuthugger is BITCHING about "Cheating"???...Dig Up Davey Moore & Ask him if Duran Cheated...Ask Ken Buchanan Likewise...



REED:stir:

 

In another terribly ugly fight to watch.

 

I disagree. Even though he was willing to fight on the inside with Bika, it was a safety-first approach. He did it to smother Bika and avoid any heavy bombs since Bika can't fight up close. When we was fighting in close, he held so much that he made a prime Ruiz proud.

 

Duran cheated to hurt guys. Guy's hurting other guys is ultimately what boxing is about. He didn't perpetually cheat to avoid fighting. That's what people hate about guys like Ward, Hopkins & Ruiz.

But from my perspective I prefer concentrating on the positive aspects of Andre Ward. And objectively - leaving entertainment aside - it's clear he's one of the 5 best fighters on the planet.

 

Yeah I mean people say Wlad does a lot of holding.......Ward would basically clinch, throw his left hand up to protect his head, then engage in a spate of kidney punches, a few low blows. He is the only fighter I know out there who initiates clinches with an elbow. I can see Froch corkscrew an uppercut into his face, and lose a point for doing so, while Ward gets 10 minutes to call his lawyer, take a breather etc.

 

Duran threw the odd elbow and used his head, but like Hopkins, there is a huge amount of skill and craft on display.

Prime Duran was a joy to watch, even though he was pretty dirty.

Ward is nothing of the sort. As opposed to using a few dirty tactics, it seems to be all he does since fighting at the elite level.

Basically holds and hits constantly, headbutts constantly, and throws as many elbows as he can.

Tyson is another example of a fighter that could be dirty, often following a hook with an elbow, or using his head a butt, but his offense was incredible, there was a huge amount of offensive talent to offset the dirtiness.

Though Holyfield was REALLY dirty, still a similar story with him. When he wasn't roughing people up, Holy was a joy to watch.

Ward is nothing of the sort. All he does is clinch and headbutt his way to victory. It works, but it's basically cheating, and incredibly ugly and frustrating to watch.

 

Nah...

Ward Actually WORKS on the Inside, MUCH More than he's Getting Credit for...Sure, there's Holding Going On, but it's an EXAGGERATION to Compare Ward to Ruiz...Ruiz would LITERALLY Jab his Way Inside JUST to Hold...Ward DOESN'T Do that...

Last Night, Ward Spent just as Much Time CLOCKING Bika w/Looooong Left Hooks from the Outside...& for Much of the 1st 4 Rounds, Ward was on the Perimeter Using the "Peek-a-Boo" Guard...



REED:mj:

 

He'll probably win, but it'll be close. Closer than people expect. Frock can clearly fight, and he's tough.

 

Versatility is what great fighters are made of. That's what impresses me most about him - he has a Floyd Mayweather like ability to adapt to his opponents, to fight both inside and outside, both lead and counter. That makes him exceedingly difficult to beat. That's he's ugly to watch isn't really relevant from a sports perspective.

 

Of course it does. Fans pay the bills.

 

Duran WON his 1st World Title by Cheating...Just about EVERY Form of Cheating (Headbutting, Low Blows, Lacing, Elbows) HURTS...@ NO Point Does Ward Give Off the Impression that he'd Rather NOT B Fighting...He DOESN'T Cheat as a STALLING Tactic, Per Se...



REED:mj:

 

No....he just holds and hits and relies on his holding and hitting being better than yours.

And he knows he won't get DQ'd for it either.

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sport

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/money

 

What?

Sports is entertainment. We pay money to watch sports, to be entertained.

Sportsmen get paid HUGE amounts of money, basically to entertain us. That's their job.

Part of the sport is to win, and from a personal perspective, Ward is obviously doing an excellent job, he's winning his fights clearly.

But like Newbraski just said, fans pay the bills.

Fighting as he does, he's not going to get Manny or Floyd levels of fame.

Even Floyd is stunning to watch in comparison to Ward.

 

Oh please, 1 more round and he would have carried a wide unanimous decision off having won more rounds by simply being better than Bucahanan.

 

Yep.

He just overwhelmed Buchanan. Was in his face constantly, and gave him a beating.

Duran wasn't even that dirty. He was much dirtier and more vicious in some of his fights as a champ at LW, and against Moore too, the other example REED used.

He didn't even do much headbutting or elbowing, or holding and hitting, he just chased Buchanan around the ring all night, landing body shots and right hands all day.

 

Fuck sake.

Refer to my last post with the dictionary entries.

 

And??

 

AND he INTENTIONALLY THUMBED Guys in the Eye, LACED them Across the Face & Used their Testicles as a SPEEDBAG...

From REED's Perspective, Ward Gets Dirty when there's the PRESUMPTION that he's NOT Tough Enough, the UNDERDOG or In Against a Guy that's MORE Physical...Ward was the CLEAR Underdog vs. Kessler, Bika was Thought to B MUCH More PHYSICAL & there was a Belief that he'd Use a Safety First Approach Against Allan Green...

It's as if Ward PURPOSELY Leaves his "Good Little Church Boy" Facade in the Dressing Room, to PROVE a POINT...

He Could VERY EASILY Stick & Move his Way to Wiiiide Points Victories...He Could Showboat & POTSHOT his Way to Easy Victories as Well...Considering the # of Fights he's Had, there's VERY FEW Guys that have Won in as Many VARYING WAYS, as Andre Ward has...



REED:mj:

 

I don't give a fuck about dictionary definitions.

We all know what sport is, and we all know it's the fans/viewers that are responsible for the revenue, and that professional televised sports IS entertainment.

 

:boring::boring::boring::boring::boring::boring:

 

So Duran DIDN'T Score a KO Win Off of a BLATANT NUTSHOT of Ken Buchanan???...What "Would" have Happened is of NO Consequence...REED is Discussing what Actually DID Happen...


REED:mj: