Is ward being a little bit overrated in all of this?

[Rantcatrat]

Ward can only be overrated if you didn't think too highly of Froch and Kessler prior to Ward's victories. Now the world is annointing Ward as the next big thing because of wins over good, but not great, fighters. I'm of that mindset. Frankly, that is where I stand and that is why I agree with Erics that Ward is being overrated. I just think too much is being made out of beating Froch and Kessler. That Ward has been proclaimed fighter of the year for beating Froch says a lot about this year's combatants.

I have said a few times that I felt Kessler was overrated and how it was strange that he became so famous by a loss to Calzaghe where he was only competitive for three maybe four rounds of a twelve round fight.

Froch is a good fighter. He's a brave fighter and he does his country proud. I'm a big fan of Froch. If more fighters had the mettle that he does, we'd have better boxing. However, Froch is not a great fighter because he is just not athletic enough. His best win was over Pascal because what Pascal has done since then. Froch didn't look resoundingly brilliant against Johnson or against Taylor. He got those wins because that is the kind of fighter Froch is and you can't discount that. Believing in yourself is an underrated trait in boxing. If Froch had the natural athletic ability to match his ring intelligence and grit, the man would be a great, but he is just limited athletically. The Ward fight showed as much. Froch couldn't figure out Ward's speed.

For Ward fans who believe he is ranked where he should be, am I correct that you feel strongly that Froch and Kessler are very good? I'll say this, and for anyone who has seen my posts in the past, if Bute loses to Froch, I'll eat crow. I'll admit Ward is that good and he is ranked where he should be. If Bute beats Froch, I believe my point stands. If Bute stops Froch or dominates Froch more than Ward, please get over the Ward bias and move Bute up above Ward in super middleweight standings because against every single one of their common opponents, Bute has looked better.

As to the scoring of the fight, I had Froch winning four rounds, but I'll admit I need to rewatch it. At the time, I had round 3, 9, 11 and 12 to Froch. The fact that the Showtime announcers were more annoyingly biased than I've heard announcers be in a long while may have persuaded me to give Froch close rounds. It was ridiculous. Usually, there is a good cop/bad cop thing going on where one announcer pleads one boxer's case and the other pleads his opponent's, but I don't think I heard one single compliment of Froch or one single criticism of Ward the whole telecast. Come on fellas. I also didn't like Ward's excessive holding in the final stanzas. By my own admission though, I gave any close rounds to Froch. The other 8 rounds, Ward clearly won. So, 8-4 Ward or Ward 116-112.