Andre Ward's future?

If it isn't bad enough that he already beaten the best fighters at SM and the best LH (even if he was coming down), he now has this shoulder injury to contend with. How much do you think the surgery (which he had yesterday) will hurt Andre Ward's prime years?

I haven't always been kind to Andre on here, but fine talent, get well soon.

Ward's future? A whole lot of frustration and thumb twiddling, if the past year is anything to go by!

It's annoying that, after announcing himself as one of the best fighters in the world against Froch, he's been beset by injuries. First the hand which kept him out for nine months, now the shoulder which, given it's already four months since he pasted Dawson, may keep him out for a length of time not much shorter than that.

I expect that, once he is back in the swing of things, he'll make a couple of routine and not particularly exciting defences of his Super-Middleweight titles before the cry for him to do something new reaches defening point; as the career or Roy demonstrates, plenty of fans soon get tired of seeing one man routinely dominate his peers without ever making any of them a particularly great fight.

If the shoulder isn't a long-lasting glitch, then he'll have a field day against the Super-Middles / Light-Heavies for the next two or three years at least, but a lack of exciting bouts and genuine threats might force him up to Cruiser eventually, as Boxing news suggested.

There isn't anyone at super-middle or light-heavy that can touch him. Unfortunately he is that good, that there isn't any competitive matches for him....

There's always the possibility that inactivity erodes his skills to a degree which MAY make any match-ups that little bit closer (on paper at least). No doubt Ward will have a comeback fight against durable but limited opposition and labour to victory. This will result in him being called out by Cleverley who has still to secure a bout with anyone of any note after Hopkins retires on his 60th birthday

Always the possibility a good rest will do him good...recharge the batteries...

Mayweather never seems to suffer.....and hard work in the gym can get his timing back...

Wrong about Cleverly........He'd only be interested In fighting Ward once the anaesthetic has taken hold and he's gone under the knife....

Unfortunately for Ward he's a bit too good for the guys around his weight class, after Froch, Kessler and Dawson where does he go? He's beaten the three best fighters in the 168-175 region already and the middleweights aren't going to be big enough to contend against his incredible strength. A wasted talent who needs a stronger depth of talent.

I think Ward's the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Not such a leftfield opinion given he's top five in most lists, but the inactivity of fighters above or around him suggests that a few months off with an injury shouldn't be too much of an issue.

To call him a wasted talent strikes me as a bit silly, to be honest. It's not as if he can magic up more competition, though long-term if quite probably could harm his legacy not being in a very padded division during his prime.

There are still some fights out there for him if he really wants them, though, admittedly at catchweights, or by dropping down, which i doubt he'd consider. I wouldn't at all mind to see him getting in with Golovkin, Quillan, Martinez, or even Chavez Jr, but i think he'd beat them all.

Would have Donaire top but not by much although I still think Mayweather is the best on the planet he isn't active enough to hold on to his top dog status.

I say wasted talent because he's got it in abundance, he's got one of the best inside games around as well as being brilliant on the outside, without a truly great fighter to fight I don't think we'll ever see him at his best.

Ward is in a strong division, problem is he's already beaten virtually everyone in it in the past 3 years. It's not the depth, it's how easily he's walked through the division and how quickly he has done it.

Like to see him fight Bute. Failing that why not go to cruiser and win a title there.

I'd say super middleweight is a very good division at the moment but not a great one and I get the feeling Ward needs to be surrounded by great fighter to really prosper. As good as Froch and Kessler are they aren't greats by any stretch of the imagination.

I wouldn't want to see anybody fight..Bute...

Overrated and run of the mill that guy.

Lumbering_Jack wrote:Like to see him fight Bute. Failing that why not go to cruiser and win a title there.

He can't sell tickets as it is!

He shouold fight at a weight he's comfortable at till a real challenge comes along..

The problem for Ward is his biggest wins (Kessler and Dawson) have been against guys who were already damaged goods to some extent. There's absolutely no-one around for him to fight that will give him a sensible challenge. He has himself to blame for teasing down Dawson to Super Middlewight though when he could have beaten him at light heavy and been a two weight world and ring magaizne champion.

If he's willing to fight Pavlik he may as well fight Bute.

To be honest JBW, it may sound skeptical, but I think Bute has realised his limitations and has accepted it, I think he just wants to get that wBC belt he has been put forward for, and will be just happy to milk it against B class fighters in canada until he retires now. Hope I'm wrong, but that's what i feel may happen.

Seems as the WBC are set to promote Andre Ward to their Emeritus Champion.

Sakio Bika vs Sjekloca will fight for the vacant WBC strap.

Then the winner must fight Lucian Bute within 90 days...

Gerry SA wrote:Seems as the WBC are set to promote Andre Ward to their Emeritus Champion.

Sakio Bika vs Sjekloca will fight for the vacant WBC strap.

Then the winner must fight Lucian Bute within 90 days...

That would suck. I wish Bute would rematch Froch.

I would loove it if Bute could beat Froch!! I would loove it!!

Super D Boon wrote:

Gerry SA wrote:Seems as the WBC are set to promote Andre Ward to their Emeritus Champion.

Sakio Bika vs Sjekloca will fight for the vacant WBC strap.

Then the winner must fight Lucian Bute within 90 days...

That would suck. I wish Bute would rematch Froch.

I would loove it if Bute could beat Froch!! I would loove it!!

How'd that work out for Kevin Keegan?

AlexHuckerby wrote:To be honest JBW, it may sound skeptical, but I think Bute has realised his limitations and has accepted it, I think he just wants to get that wBC belt he has been put forward for, and will be just happy to milk it against B class fighters in canada until he retires now. Hope I'm wrong, but that's what i feel may happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if you're correct. He did come to Froch's back yard with the hope of proving himself against a world class fighter, however I don't think he expected Froch to be so much better than he was in his two previous fights, and might not have taken the challenge had Froch not been coming off a decisive defeat in which he looked his age.

If Bute is going to try and make the best of things, and be the sort of fighter who maybe wasn't that great, but would test himself against anybody, then Ward's the sort of guy he should go for. It was Froch's ability to take shots to the chin and stand there and respond that got Bute beat up. Ward's unlikely to brawl with him like that, so even if/when Ward wins it's not going to be the potentially brain curdling hammering he'd receive from Froch.

Ward has a large family to feed. pavlik, froch rematch, Quillin and Chavez are all good future fights for him. dont expect any of them to get near him in the ring though

I doubt Bute is going to go after Ward anytime soon and I think it would be equally disastorous as it was for him to go after Froch. Not as devastatingly so but it would be punch accumulation that would stop Bute rather than sheer brute force which Froch used to destroy him.

Ward is a different class and Bute is massively over-rated. I think he did a number for years boxing in Canada and building up this mystical image and as soon as he got it in with a Grade A fighter like Froch he was exposed and completely out of his depth.

No one touches Ward right now and I don't think this recent bout of injuries that he is unfortunately going through will have any effect on him because he is a great technician, granted a few cobwebs/ring rust but you don't lose what that guy has.

For me he outclasses Pavlik, he convincingly beats Froch again. JCC relies to much on his size to beat up the little guys but he wouldn't have that advantage over Ward. What about Ward v Martinez at SMW? I think that would be an interesting fight. Thoughts?

martinez wont go up to SMW from what ive always heard him say. hes a small LMW at the tail end of his career. Dirrell would be the most interesting match up as far as im concerned, but im not convinced dirrell will fight at the top level again.

I know he is on the back end of his career but he is still in incredible shape for his age and as he showed against JCC he can overcome the age gap with experience and skill. I think it would be a fantastic match up. It would be a shame if dirrell never fights at the top level again because I think he has so much potential. I honestly thought he beat Froch when he came over here.

i think there are plenty of fights for him at the moment, granted maybe a jump up or down (or catchweight) in weight may be needed but its only 7lbs. adamek, froch II, golovkin, hopkins, cloud, cleverly, kayode, huck, hernandez. and with fighters like groves, oosthiezen and and the degale coming through i dont see lack of opposition been a problem for a while, looking at the frame of andre i cant see any reason he couldnt campain at LW or higher.

I wouldnt advise Ward jumping straight to cruiser. He might end up there, but at the moment the average cruiser would outweigh him by about 25-30lbs. Adamek weighs around 220lbs these days. However looking around its probably only at cruiserweight where he could get a fight that he would not be red hot favourite to win.

I think Martinez is a little bit too small for Ward, and isn't quite as good as him in any case. Sergio and Di Bella have talked about trying to lure Mayweather in to a fight at Light-Middle and have said they could even go as low as 150 lb for it, which tells me everything I need to know there. Martinez has always been pretty blunt about his lack of interest in going up to 168 lb, but I don't blame him at all for that and it's the sensible option.

Dirrell, if he can ever be bothered to really make a go of his career, could be an interesting match up, I agree. Very quick, a slippery customer and can punch a bit too - he's one of the very few men who have managed to wobble Froch and legitimately shake him up a wee bit.

The problem is that, much like some of Roy's outings during the middle years of his career, it could be a fight which damages Ward's reputation in some ways, as it's likely to be the stinker to end all stinkers. First off, the two of them are close mates apparently, so we'd likely have to endure a whole lot of glove touching, pawing jabs and slow tempo rounds. Next, even if the fight does come to the boil, I have misgivings about Dirrell's ability to suck it up and give as good as he gets.

He completely blew it against Froch, despite having the perfect style and all the tools to beat him. If he'd boxed every round like he did the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, he'd have run away with the decision. But his performance in the middle rounds, particularly the sixth and seventh, was mildly embarrassing. Falling to the ground whenever Froch got inside, holding each time Froch buzzed him, ducking below the waste, turning his back etc. The point deduction was totally justified and, taking that in to account, I had Froch nicking the fight by a round and can safely plead 'not guilty' to any charge of personal bias on that one.

Great talent, is Dirrell, but he needs to leave that amateur style behind and uncover some of that warrior spirit which Froch talks about (sorry, Steffan!) if he's going to have a career as good as his talent warrants.

88Chris05 wrote:I think Martinez is a little bit too small for Ward, and isn't quite as good as him in any case. Sergio and Di Bella have talked about trying to lure Mayweather in to a fight at Light-Middle and have said they could even go as low as 150 lb for it, which tells me everything I need to know there. Martinez has always been pretty blunt about his lack of interest in going up to 168 lb, but I don't blame him at all for that and it's the sensible option.

Dirrell, if he can ever be bothered to really make a go of his career, could be an interesting match up, I agree. Very quick, a slippery customer and can punch a bit too - he's one of the very few men who have managed to wobble Froch and legitimately shake him up a wee bit.

The problem is that, much like some of Roy's outings during the middle years of his career, it could be a fight which damages Ward's reputation in some ways, as it's likely to be the stinker to end all stinkers. First off, the two of them are close mates apparently, so we'd likely have to endure a whole lot of glove touching, pawing jabs and slow tempo rounds. Next, even if the fight does come to the boil, I have misgivings about Dirrell's ability to suck it up and give as good as he gets.

He completely blew it against Froch, despite having the perfect style and all the tools to beat him. If he'd boxed every round like he did the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, he'd have run away with the decision. But his performance in the middle rounds, particularly the sixth and seventh, was mildly embarrassing. Falling to the ground whenever Froch got inside, holding each time Froch buzzed him, ducking below the waste, turning his back etc. The point deduction was totally justified and, taking that in to account, I had Froch nicking the fight by a round and can safely plead 'not guilty' to any charge of personal bias on that one.

Great talent, is Dirrell, but he needs to leave that amateur style behind and uncover some of that warrior spirit which Froch talks about (sorry, Steffan!) if he's going to have a career as good as his talent warrants.

Yes, that's right.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:
Wrong about Cleverly........He'd only be interested In fighting Ward once the anaesthetic has taken hold and he's gone under the knife....

And he'd still rather be fighting the nurse administering the anaesthetic.....