Thread: HBO's packaging of Andre Ward is DISGRACEFUL!!!

No wonder why American boxing is losing out on big paydays and losing out in mass appeal world wide...

Here we have THE TOP OF THE TOP ELITE FIGHTER IN THE WORLD, barring Floyd Mayweather, in Andre Ward, and he can't get a damn ppv fight or a proper build up with a major network like HBO behind him?? WTF??

Heck, even B-Hop gets better fight promotions and hype than Ward. And B-Hop is old as dirt. WTH?

Ward should weigh his options with Showtime and his current promoter if this persists. It's not fair to him.

That's the sad thing about these networks and boxing promoters: they're lazy. If something is a tough sell, they don't seem to want to make the effort. They'd rather jump on what they deem to be "sure things". They don't seem to have any idea how to build stars. If a guy is a natural personality and can draw heat himself, they can jump on and accentuate it. But a soft spoken technical fighter they have no clue what to do with.

Bob Arum did the same thing with Mayweather. He was aggressive in trying to get Mayweather big fights, but he didn't see Mayweather as a draw whatsoever. Mayweather leaves him and becomes the biggest draw in boxing history.

Originally Posted by Beanflicker

That's the sad thing about these networks and boxing promoters: they're lazy. If something is a tough sell, they don't seem to want to make the effort. They'd rather jump on what they deem to be "sure things". They don't seem to have any idea how to build stars. If a guy is a natural personality and can draw heat himself, they can jump on and accentuate it. But a soft spoken technical fighter they have no clue what to do with.

Bob Arum did the same thing with Mayweather. He was aggressive in trying to get Mayweather big fights, but he didn't see Mayweather as a draw whatsoever. Mayweather leaves him and becomes the biggest draw in boxing history.

It is fair if you ask me.

Ward is a bore, a horrible fighter to watch and no one enjoys his fights that much.

He's a benchmark, fighters like Amir Khan and TysonFury go out to have a fight because they want to excite fans, when I'd bet Khan would have beaten Garcia (because he was comfortably and clearly ahead), and Fury wouldn't have been dropped the few times he was if they had fought in the style Ward does, but they have good to watch tear ups because nobody, especially a fighter wants to be known as unexciting.

They don't want to market him because people like me don't wanna watch him. I have no interest in watching a free Andre Ward fight let alone paying for one.

He needs to step out and tear it up for a fight and maybe earn the kind of backing he wants.

It's clear you like fighting and not "boxing". And it's nothing wrong with that. But to say Ward fights is boring, I have to question that. His last 7 to 9 fights, he been dismantling people to a point where other fighters is not considering him as an opponent. And his weight division is stacked! And it's not like he's KOing people. He's skillfully destroying people. A great watch for me.

And that's my OPINION

Originally Posted by Ant Live

It's clear you like fighting and not "boxing". And it's nothing wrong with that. But to say Ward fights is boring, I have to question that. His last 7 to 9 fights, he been dismantling people to a point where other fighters is not considering him as an opponent. And his weight division is stacked! And it's not like he's KOing people. He's skillfully destroying people. A great watch for me.

And that's my OPINION

i wouldnt call wards style boxing, hes mastered the art of moving in quickly, hitting and smothering in one movement, and he does little on the inside

i like fighting, i like boxing, i especially like a fighter who can and is willing to do both

i dont like wards style at all and it doesnt suprise me he doesnt sell tickets

Its bad enough that fighters have one slave owner but two. These pseudo omnipotent broadcasters and especially HBO are deciding who fights each other. Sadly they want to go back to wearing togas and throwing bread around.

Ps- Ward needs to shit or get off the pot.

I like Ward but a lot of his style does at times make him a bit boring.

Originally Posted by Ant Live

It's clear you like fighting and not "boxing". And it's nothing wrong with that. But to say Ward fights is boring, I have to question that. His last 7 to 9 fights, he been dismantling people to a point where other fighters is not considering him as an opponent. And his weight division is stacked! And it's not like he's KOing people. He's skillfully destroying people. A great watch for me.

And that's my OPINION

I much prefer boxing than fighting but ward holds more than a company with bad customer service.

Originally Posted by Vendettos

Originally Posted by Ant Live

It's clear you like fighting and not "boxing". And it's nothing wrong with that. But to say Ward fights is boring, I have to question that. His last 7 to 9 fights, he been dismantling people to a point where other fighters is not considering him as an opponent. And his weight division is stacked! And it's not like he's KOing people. He's skillfully destroying people. A great watch for me.

And that's my OPINION

I much prefer boxing than fighting but ward holds more than a company with bad customer service.

Yes, and we know that is part of boxing but it doesn't make for a good match with the frequency he does it.

1. What fighter have the fighting style you like?
2. Besides Ward moving into another weight division, who would give him a good fight?
3. The sport of boxing is a business and about making money. But do a fighter make a million and fight to win or try to fight for the fans and potentially lose future millions?

Originally Posted by Ant Live

It's clear you like fighting and not "boxing". And it's nothing wrong with that. But to say Ward fights is boring, I have to question that. His last 7 to 9 fights, he been dismantling people to a point where other fighters is not considering him as an opponent. And his weight division is stacked! And it's not like he's KOing people. He's skillfully destroying people. A great watch for me.

And that's my OPINION

I'm with you, I like watching Ward a lot. He made a fan of me. I didn't like him early in his career but he grew on me. I thought he got by on talent and would struggle when he stepped up. But the more I watched him the more I saw. Dude is all class as far as his approach to the craft. These days I even like watching him shadow box because even at that you can learn from him. I still don't care for his personality or his entitled beliefs. Yes, you're good and you proved that but you can't sell so get off you're horse and do whatever you have to do to get guys to fight.

Don't feel too sorry for him. HBO gave him $1.9 million for fighting Rodriguez. The viewing figures didn't even make the top 10 most watched fights at the end of the year. That's some seriously good wedge for a guy with no fans.

Originally Posted by Fenster

Don't feel too sorry for him. HBO gave him $1.9 million for fighting Rodriguez. The viewing figures didn't even make the top 10 most watched fights at the end of the year. That's some seriously good wedge for a guy with no fans.

I'll take 2 million a fight without complaining if need be for the rest of my career, until the 10 million fight come around. But who would be his opponent? Even if he moves up or down in weight, he still probably won't get that.
1. GGG
2. Stevenson
3. B-HOP
4. Kovalev

Even if floyd took him up on his offer an meet him at 160, Ward would probably only get somewhere upwards 8 to 10. Saying that, keep winning and make 2 per fight. Better then losing and making 500K

Originally Posted by Fenster

Don't feel too sorry for him. HBO gave him $1.9 million for fighting Rodriguez. The viewing figures didn't even make the top 10 most watched fights at the end of the year. That's some seriously good wedge for a guy with no fans.

I agree. It's Berto money.

I'd like to see him step up to Stevenson, Kovalev, Hopkins or Pascal, while he waits for GGG to leave 160. Dismantling that string of guys would do a lot for his marketability.