Andre Ward Wasn't That Impressive vs Sakio Bika.

[Rantcatrat]

Ward doesn't remind me of Mayweather at all. He reminds much more of the veteran Hopkins. A younger Hopkins to me was much more explosive and dynamic, evidenced by the fact that he was consistently knocking people out. People only began finding Hopkins boring to watch when he learned to adapt after losing some of his speed with age. Ward may have the speed but already is fighting like a veteran. When was the last time Ward knocked anyone out (seriously, I don't mean to be facetious)?

So far, Ward hasn't given me much reason to believe that he is athletic, more that he is an amazingly skilled boxer. I think that is the reason why Taeth believes Dirrell could give him trouble (and also why Bute may give him trouble) because Dirrell is significantly more athletic. Personally, I believe Dirrell doesn't have the mental toughness to beat Ward. Ward would adapt, Dirrell wouldn't (See the Froch fight).

I also have yet to see Ward fight very much from the outside. His inability to fight on the outside may be his main weakness (although it might not matter because he is so good one the inside), why he never knocks anyone out, and why he fought on the inside against Bika. Or maybe the reason he doesn't knock anyone out is because he isn't very powerful?

Ward won against Bika, but it wasn't an easy win. There weren't really any rounds where he completely dominated (mayeb one or two). Bika was in the fight the whole time and Bika actually suprised and impressed me. He did better than Kessler and Green did against Ward - that much is certain. If Bika was a tough outing for Ward, he would be a tough outing for anyone at 168 other than Bute who already thoroughly beat him.

Compare Ward's performances against Bika and Miranda to Bute's performances against them. Bute dominated both in a much easier fashion. And Miranda was brutally knocked out by Bute in the 4th round - Ward beat him on the cards. To me, Ward's victory over Kessler was more impressive than his win over Bika because he forced Kessler to fight his fight when Kessler would have preferred to fight at a range. I do believe that some of that was because the fight was in Oakland and the ref allowed excessive holding and headbutting/elbowing, which is why I'm interested in seeing a rematch on neutral ground when the S6 is done. Still, no matter what Kessler fans may say, it was impressive.

A Bute-Ward fight on neutral ground would be a great fight because I would love to see if Ward could force Bika to fight on the inside. A Froch-Ward fight isn't as interesting to me because I'm not sure Froch is fast enough to tag Ward.

[Taeth]

Ward doesn't remind me of Mayweather at all. He reminds much more of the veteran Hopkins. A younger Hopkins to me was much more explosive and dynamic, evidenced by the fact that he was consistently knocking people out. People only began finding Hopkins boring to watch when he learned to adapt after losing some of his speed with age. Ward may have the speed but already is fighting like a veteran. When was the last time Ward knocked anyone out (seriously, I don't mean to be facetious)?

So far, Ward hasn't given me much reason to believe that he is athletic, more that he is an amazingly skilled boxer. I think that is the reason why Taeth believes Dirrell could give him trouble (and also why Bute may give him trouble) because Dirrell is significantly more athletic. Personally, I believe Dirrell doesn't have the mental toughness to beat Ward. Ward would adapt, Dirrell wouldn't (See the Froch fight).

I also have yet to see Ward fight very much from the outside. His inability to fight on the outside may be his main weakness (although it might not matter because he is so good one the inside), why he never knocks anyone out, and why he fought on the inside against Bika. Or maybe the reason he doesn't knock anyone out is because he isn't very powerful?

Ward won against Bika, but it wasn't an easy win. There weren't really any rounds where he completely dominated (mayeb one or two). Bika was in the fight the whole time and Bika actually suprised and impressed me. He did better than Kessler and Green did against Ward - that much is certain. If Bika was a tough outing for Ward, he would be a tough outing for anyone at 168 other than Bute who already thoroughly beat him.

Compare Ward's performances against Bika and Miranda to Bute's performances against them. Bute dominated both in a much easier fashion. And Miranda was brutally knocked out by Bute in the 4th round - Ward beat him on the cards. To me, Ward's victory over Kessler was more impressive than his win over Bika because he forced Kessler to fight his fight when Kessler would have preferred to fight at a range. I do believe that some of that was because the fight was in Oakland and the ref allowed excessive holding and headbutting/elbowing, which is why I'm interested in seeing a rematch on neutral ground when the S6 is done. Still, no matter what Kessler fans may say, it was impressive.

A Bute-Ward fight on neutral ground would be a great fight because I would love to see if Ward could force Bika to fight on the inside. A Froch-Ward fight isn't as interesting to me because I'm not sure Froch is fast enough to tag Ward.

I think Ward's athleticism is pretty obvious, he has great reflexes, much better than average handspeed and elite level footspeed. I think Ward would find a way to beat Dirrel for sure, but he doesn't have a great right cross yet, which I think is a huge flaw against a southpaw like Dirrel can be. Even though we don't see the same adaptability in Dirrell I would disagree about him in the Froch fight, I think he adapted, but he just did it too late. We saw him control the fight early, then Froch got dirty and made it an ugly fight, then Dirrell changed from a boxer to a fighter and he hurt Froch late, and honestly should have won that fight. Froch was given way too much credit for a lot of illegal bullshit in that fight, and I give Dirrell props for the way he adapted and hurt Froch badly late in the fight. Ward though would have adapted much quicker, and would against Dirrell as well, but Dirrell would always have that chance of landing one fight changing punch that nobody else in the division might be quick or skilled enough to land on Ward. Hate Dirrell for all the reasons you want, but he is an exceptional fighter.