I tried not to let Mayweather's like-ability or Ward's abrasiveness influence me.

[Taeth]

What were you watching? He's better at none of those things technically. He had a hard time getting off last night, he got tagged way more against a guy like Froch than Floyd would have. Floyd lands much more solidly than Ward which is why he has gotten more knockouts, especially when you compare his early career to Ward's. Floyd gets the best angles I've yet to see. Sure he could always improve at it, but he gets the most minute angles and makes the most of them. You can tell because he almost always is in better position than his opponent. part of why Floyd has better counter punching than Ward is because of his superior defensive skills, while Ward has great reflexes and technique, Floyd "Feels" his opponent coming in, you see going backwards in response to his opponents punches almost absorbing the force of the punches and he comes as the force receeds like he's riding a wave. This is boxing at the highest level and almost nobody truly does this. Hopkins does it to a degree, Roy Jones did it second best, Manny does it offensively, but he doesn't have it defensively at all. I'm not sure how to best describe it, but once you start going off this feeling it changes footwork, angles, everything you do in there. You suddenly aren't overusing footwork to find obvious angles, instead you are slipping into an angle without your opponent knowing. Floyd feints and slides, and how many times is his opponents caught unaware when that right hand hits them? It isn't just hand and foot speed that makes Floyd so good, its everything he does to set up those shots. The scary thing is he is honestly getting better. He is developing the same skills Hopkins did to still avoid punches from a fast guys like Pascal and Dawson at 46. It's not maintained reflexes, simply a higher level of technique that compensates for it. For the most part reflexes only go so far anyways, it's mostly a high level of sensitivity to what the opponent is going to do that makes a guy elusive in the first place.

Could he get to where Floyd is? I think potentially, Floyd wasn't where he is now when he was 27, he did a lot of things more inefficiently than he does now. He also had a different type of speed than Ward which helped him get away with things Ward couldn't.

The one thing I would advise Ward to do is fight a southpaw, once Floyd fight Demarcus Corley it really developed his right hand. Ward really needs to learn how to throw it, and it would make his night much easier. Against Froch and other guys it looks so weak, with very little snap or body weight behind it.

[Pugilistic]

Ward like Floyd is extemely smart and versatile.

They can both fight anyway they want whether it be on the outside boxing, on the inside, out of clinches, etc.

I think Floyd has the better ability though. He's sharper with his work and get's hit less.

Ward compares better with Hopkins stylistically.

The fact you can actually compare Ward to Floyd shows how much ability Ward has and how great he will be once his career is over.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

I think Ward is brilliant.

Not quite as fast as Mayweather was, but the real interesting thing is that Mayweather is only been into his bag of tricks during the last 2-3 years, Ward has been fighting like that form day 1. (hence I would kinda agree with the 'more like Hopkins' line).

To me, it shows his maturity and competence that he is not one of these guys that just jump around throwing big punches (not that he can't).

But to truly compare the two is impossible, obviously Floyd is a 5 weight world champion and has been in championship fights almost non stop since the age of 18.

Ward has a LONG way to go yet. But he is pretty fucking brilliant and he will be a long term success, if he wants to be.

[ono]

Am i the only one who thinks he's nowhere near as good as Mayweather? He's good, but let's not go overboard.

[Manos de Piedra]

I have to disagree. Ward is good and probably second after mayweather.
hypothetically speaking if that was Floyd last night with Froch, I think Floyd would win without a mark on his face and Froch would have been alot more reluctant to throw punches and would have got beat badly. Ward's good but he's not on mayweather's level yet.

[ReBeL BLacK]

Yes Ward is if anything an apprentice to Floyd. There are aspects of Wards ability that can compare to floyds but they still dont have the finesse and polish that maywether has. Ward even said he studied Floyd before entering the fight with Froch. Mayweather has an invincible ability to avoid punishment from every angle of the ring.With that type of ability he is able to dictate how the fight is fought and counter punch effectively. A difference between the two would certainly be Ward's willingness to bang with you on the inside as we saw against Froch. He used his elboys and forearms to muscle Froch around and land blows while Money would rather draw you in and land the 1,2 and slide out of harms way.
Still I think they are very similar in many aspects but Ward is still young and has a lot of work to do to be considered a superior "boxer" than Floyd.\
one thing they certainly share is their knowledge of how to never lose.

[Beanflicker]

Floyd fought much better fighters than Froch and got hit less than half as much as Ward did while doing it.

Floyd is on another level.

[stebs]

How can anyone evaluate Wards greatness off of a fight like this.

Carl Froch regardless of what the scorecards say is not that good of a fighter and his super six performances show this. Yes he made it to the final somehow.

Froch was losing to Taylor in his first super six fight and got lucky when Taylor tired and ended up with the win by TKO, he lost to Andre Dirrell in his second only to get a gift decision, he lost to Mikkel Kessler. He won against an old weight drained light heavy Glen Johnson. The only fight he won decisively was against Abraham who was a blown up middle who dosen't throw punches.

If you count Dirrell he lost more then anyone in the super six and was most likely the least talented. The only thing going for him is his heart and stamina which is enough only some of the time.

Andre Ward is the best Super middle out there and when he beats up Bute everyone will agree. But he is from from a great at this point in his career.

I don't know why Bute has such good standing either, he's been spoon fed opponents and got knocked out in the process, he was knocked out and he got the Win, not many can do that, maybe that's why he's on some pedestal.

Ward beats him Easy.

[Mars_ax]

Am i the only one who thinks he's nowhere near as good as Mayweather? He's good, but let's not go overboard.

Ward is not even close to being as talented as Mayweather, and he'll never be as marketable or as popular. As for Ward being a "great" fighter, I think that's fucking laughable.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

Am i the only one who thinks he's nowhere near as good as Mayweather? He's good, but let's not go overboard.

Ward is not even close to being as talented as Mayweather, and he'll never be as marketable or as popular. As for Ward being a "great" fighter, I think that's fucking laughable.

He is no worse than what Hopkins was at his age. Honestley, I think Ward is still one for the future, a fine wine fighter, he shows great maturity. And is a class act in the ring.

Better than Martinez imo.