The Andre Ward issue from 10 Players

[ykdadamaja]

Ward has only himself to blame. Just fight and earn money. We all have bosses we hate but you work to pay the bills.

At the core of it, yea... but some principles are unbreakable. This is kinda/sorta unbreakable for Ward. I stand with him- it's not as if dodgy promoters are anything new in boxing. In reality, dodgy promoters is what has caused boxing the black-eyes it had received for so long.

Haymon/King/Arum should buy out Ward's contract. That could happen.

[Master]

Ward has only himself to blame. Just fight and earn money. We all have bosses we hate but you work to pay the bills.

At the core of it, yea... but some principles are unbreakable. This is kinda/sorta unbreakable for Ward. I stand with him- it's not as if dodgy promoters are anything new in boxing. In reality, dodgy promoters is what has caused boxing the black-eyes it had received for so long.

Haymon/King/Arum should buy out Ward's contract. That could happen.

Or he could buy it out himself.

[Beanflicker]

EDIT: Nevermind, I read up on the situation and am now 100% anti Goosen.

[Rantcatrat]

It's easy to say it's Goosen's fault. On the other hand, Goosen did a great job with Ward's career. None of the major promotional players signed Ward out of the Olympics. Let that sink in. Ward doesn't have the most fan-friendly style. Goosen got him into the Super Six and got him big pay days against guys that weren't going to be competitive. He got paid something like $2.5MM for his fight against Edwin Rodriguez. Compare that to GGG's $700k for fighting Geale. It's tough to feel sorry for Ward.

By the way, Haymon will never sign Ward because Ward is with James Prince, and they don't get along.

[Beanflicker]

It's easy to say it's Goosen's fault. On the other hand, Goosen did a great job with Ward's career. None of the major promotional players signed Ward out of the Olympics. Let that sink in. Ward doesn't have the most fan-friendly style. Goosen got him into the Super Six and got him big pay days against guys that weren't going to be competitive. He got paid something like $2.5MM for his fight against Edwin Rodriguez. Compare that to GGG's $700k for fighting Geale. It's tough to feel sorry for Ward.

By the way, Haymon will never sign Ward because Ward is with James Prince, and they don't get along.

I thought that way too until I read this...

Chris Mannix: A bitter contract dispute comes at a bad time for Andre Ward - MMA - SI.com

Leonard was the one doing the work for Ward and building him up while Goossen was the figure head. Knowing that, it's hard for me to side with Goossen and fault Ward, especially for standing up for his friend.

[Master]

That article is a load of nonsense. If he wants to pay Leonard, he can do it from his own purse. Sakio Bika, James DeGale and Anthony Dirrell are not bad names. Ward needs to just fight. He has been "tapped up" by a promoter promising him millions when in reality he should knuckle down and continue fighting.

[Beanz]

The Flood gates may turn out to be merely a trickle if you are an old man. Sort it out.

[Beanflicker]

That article is a load of nonsense. If he wants to pay Leonard, he can do it from his own purse. Sakio Bika, James DeGale and Anthony Dirrell are not bad names. Ward needs to just fight. He has been "tapped up" by a promoter promising him millions when in reality he should knuckle down and continue fighting.

They are pretty weak names, considering Ward is the absolute undisputed #1 in the division and almost universally recognized #2 p4p fighter in the world. He wants mega fights and who can blame him.

[Rantcatrat]

I don't know. He got paid $2.5mm for fighting Edwin Rodriguez!

If the beef is between Leonard and Goosen, why didn't Leonard sue Goosen? If Leonard is the issue, pay Leonard the money that Goosen allegedly took from him and fight for Goosen until the contract expires.

It seems a lot like Ward is just trying to get out of his contract with Goosen because he doesn't want to be signed to Goosen. Plain and simple.

Moreover, two wrongs don't make a right. He had a contract with Goosen that a court has ruled is valid and now he is going back on fulfilling the contract.

Also, look at who he calls out: a middleweight and Chavez Jr. He says that a fight with the winner of Dirrell and Bika is a step back and that he won't face Kovalev. Really?

At the end of the day, fighters fight.

[IamInuit]

Ward has only himself to blame. Just fight and earn money. We all have bosses we hate but you work to pay the bills.

At the core of it, yea... but some principles are unbreakable. This is kinda/sorta unbreakable for Ward. I stand with him- it's not as if dodgy promoters are anything new in boxing. In reality, dodgy promoters is what has caused boxing the black-eyes it had received for so long.

Haymon/King/Arum should buy out Ward's contract. That could happen.

He who represents himself has a fool for a client

a famous man once said and that's what Ward is doing here based on moral principle. What he should do is sue the leech lawyer that he is paying that is telling him he has a case.

Ward also went over the line with his slander and accusations of Goossen cooking the books etc and he should not be surprised by Goossens 10 million dollar defamation suit.

And btw there is no evidence of Goossen being a scum bag promoter now or in the past that I am aware of. Ward was offered a contract and he signed it and the fact that he cant get out of it does not make Goossen a scum bag. Ward has overestimated his worth so in order for him to buy out his contract he would most likely have to pay twice as much as Floyd or Oscar paid to Arum. That is if that option even exists.

@Rantcatrat covered the grounds perfectly so no sense repeating what he said but Ward has essentially had his way on every possible level since the S6 and now that Goossen cant pull a rabbit out of the hat Ward has problems. Even when he was signed by Roy and Dan they coughed up 400 grand. Not only is Wards style not fan friendly for the purchasing masses but the guy is also to freaking good. Speaking of Roys involvement, this is a little like what happened to Winky when he signed with Squared Ring. It came to a point where either nobody wanted to fight him or Winky thought he was bigger then the sport.

[Gandalf]

Ward should not have signed the contract if he didn't like it. Sure, boxing is full of scumbag promoters, but if you are a gifted fighter, then you have the obligation to make it a good contract. What good is it being the son of God if you are a pathetic and inactive slave to contracts? He needs to sort himself out. His best years are passing by.

[ykdadamaja]

Ward should not have signed the contract if he didn't like it. Sure, boxing is full of scumbag promoters, but if you are a gifted fighter, then you have the obligation to make it a good contract. What good is it being the son of God if you are a pathetic and inactive slave to contracts? He needs to sort himself out. His best years are passing by.

Everyone makes mistakes. He may be a good fighter. He may be a Godly man. But he may not be the brightest or less naïve on these matters.

[Gandalf]

True we all make mistakes, but on a contract that can dictate your career? I just think people need to be very careful about such things and at the least make sure the contract has obvious limitations. I can see both sides of the argument. Ward has had a lot of time injured and Goossen feels that hasn't been fair on him. My issue is that I don't see why Ward is so hard on Goossen considering that he has done very well with his purses. Instead Ward wants this long battle and is in the process not getting paid at all. Surely he could have just compromised. What is it now? One fight a year, just seems so pointless to me.

[ykdadamaja]

True we all make mistakes, but on a contract that can dictate your career? I just think people need to be very careful about such things and at the least make sure the contract has obvious limitations. I can see both sides of the argument. Ward has had a lot of time injured and Goossen feels that hasn't been fair on him. My issue is that I don't see why Ward is so hard on Goossen considering that he has done very well with his purses. Instead Ward wants this long battle and is in the process not getting paid at all. Surely he could have just compromised. What is it now? One fight a year, just seems so pointless to me.

He wasn't the first, or dumbest, to get into a shitty contract. That's how they roll.

[Gandalf]

'That's how they roll' is no justification for his current situation.