Return of S.O.G. June 20, Oakland CA

Super middleweight kingpin Andre Ward will finally return to the squared circle after a 19 month layoff. Opponent is TBA at present but could be Paul Smith Jr.

Not a bad warm up fight......

Durable..beatable stiff..

Toss up.

If Ward was only allowed to use one hand.

After a 2 year lay off he could face tougher fighters than TBA!

Eddie does like a no hope fight on American soil so this could happen.

Scottrf wrote:Toss up.

If Ward was only allowed to use one hand.

Might be a toss up if son of a bitch wasn't allowed to use either hand. Mind you he's quite proficient with his head, so would still start favourite I imagine.

The Golden State is doing quite well in the NBA at the moment. Maybe the citizens get a success hangover and think it prudent to go watch Ward headbutt, grapple and occasionally punch Smith Jr?

Boring fight boring fighter. Hope he retires and does what he does best at the moment which is moan complain not fight moan some more call out some names then disappear then moan then blah blah blah

Does anyone still care about this guy anymore?

Oh and no surprise it's yet again in his garden....

Let me think how many times......Louis, Leonard, Hearns, Mayweather, Holmes, Spinks, Bowe, Delahoya etc etc etc....

Fought outside America...

Non issue..

I don't mind the not fighting outside of America thing to be honest, had to travel 6000 miles for the Froch fight I believe so it was hardly in his back yard for example.

But Ward has only fought outside California once I believe? He just isn't a draw is as boring as dish water and as active a Queen Elizabeth frequenting the red light district of Amsterdam.

The guy just needs to disappear.

Could of been great I just don't think he will be...in my eyes anyway.

mobilemaster8 wrote:But Ward has only fought outside California once I believe? He just isn't a draw is as boring as dish water and as active a Queen Elizabeth frequenting the red light district of Amsterdam.

The guy just needs to disappear.

Could of been great I just don't think he will be...in my eyes anyway.

Ward has fought 7 time outside of Cali...

I think they have hopes of building him into the next Mayweather.

When Floyd retires America will be looking for its boxing figurehead...let's face it Mayweather is hardly an exciting fighter but is admired for his skill. Ward is less obnoxious a character too.

Just think it may be a gap in the market once Floyd retires.

He hadn't got the persona tho that carrys Mayweather can't see the casuals buyin into him tbh

Yeah I see that Mayweather persona is very different to Ward, just think the Americans will be looking for a new hero, the boxing world will be looking for a new P4P no 1 etc...

I dont think Mayweather is all that popular, even amongst Americans.

His fights sell though...

His fights sell, but he is not a popular figure. I would say his opponent is usually more favoured by the crowd in most of his fights.

He has had the readily availble opponents, usually with strong partisan followings, to keep his ratings high.

The Mexican/Hispanic demographic seems by far the strongest boxing following in the U.S. I would imagine future stars will generally come from that background.

Yeah you could be right. I was in Vegas on Mexican independence weekend for a Canelo fight and the place was mental.

Think Ward is too old fo take the flame from Floyd I think. Not only that but he never fights. That's ths major problem.

Fighting guys like Rodriguez and smith don't help either in a stacked SMW division with the likes of Froch, Direll brothers, Groves, De Gale ....hell even Abraham.


He is supposed to be P4P number 2 for some reason.

As I say, great fighter, I just don't rate him as a P4P number 2 fighter.

catchweight wrote:His fights sell, but he is not a popular figure. I would say his opponent is usually more favoured by the crowd in most of his fights.

He has had the readily availble opponents, usually with strong partisan followings, to keep his ratings high.

The Mexican/Hispanic demographic seems by far the strongest boxing following in the U.S. I would imagine future stars will generally come from that background.

All these hispanic fighters with huge followings like Alvarez, Ortiz, Guerrero and Maidana........................Strange thing is before and after Mayweather these guys aren't involved in big PPV fights.....

Why not If they are the selling point ??

Manny isn't focussed apparently according to this guy...(Apparently he knows him !! He knows Glenn Mccrory too ) ............ and Mayweather isn't popular...

Give it a rest..

mobilemaster8 wrote:Think Ward is too old fo take the flame from Floyd I think. Not only that but he never fights. That's ths major problem.

Fighting guys like Rodriguez and smith don't help either in a stacked SMW division with the likes of Froch, Direll brothers, Groves, De Gale ....hell even Abraham.


He is supposed to be P4P number 2 for some reason.

As I say, great fighter, I just don't rate him as a P4P number 2 fighter.

To be fair he beat Froch and Abraham pretty comfortably and signed to face Dirrell who pulled out, you fancy he has the beating of Groves and Degale, although they are worthy challengers.

I agree to some extent Alex, would like to see him stick with the top opposition though. Froch may not be the best in some eyes, but you can't take anything away from his run of opponents back to back no fuss away or home he never cared.

It's waht fighters of that calibre should strive to do...but sometimes I suppose boxing politics say otherwise

One of the most arrogant, pretentious, mind-numbingly tedious, dirtiest and borderline unwatchable 'fighters' of the modern era. Ward, do what the hell you want to do, I couldn't give a rat's ass and I'm absolutely certain I speak for the vast majority of fight fans in saying so.

EdWoodjr wrote:One of the most arrogant, pretentious, mind-numbingly tedious, dirtiest and borderline unwatchable 'fighters' of the modern era. Ward, do what the hell you want to do, I couldn't give a rat's ass and I'm absolutely certain I speak for the vast majority of fight fans in saying so.  

You buying tickets to his next fight?

EdWoodjr - are you really Carl Froch?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Not a bad warm up fight......

Durable..beatable stiff..

TopHat24/7 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Not a bad warm up fight......

Durable..beatable stiff..

Yep..

If we're slating the novice Joshua for his opponents then why are people giving the p4p no.2 a pass for fighting stiff ?

Derbymanc wrote:If we're slating the novice Joshua for his opponents then why are people giving the p4p no.2 a pass for fighting stiff ?

You're right he doesn't deserve to fight the odd stiff.............

He's got a crap record and he only wins because he fights in America......

If Hearns, Leonard, Mayweather and Ward had ever come to Europe they'd be trial horses..

Who's GGG fighting next again ??

So what your saying is we'll go off what's happened in the past.

so once again i'll ask

What's the difference between this and Joshua?

You slate Joshua for not fighting for a title even though he's an 11 fight novice, go off at all and sundry that disagree as 'whats the point in Joshua' yet when one of your favourites signs to fight a stiff it's suddenly okay cause Bobby Hackensack did the same thing in 1802.

Oh and it's got nowt to do with Ward not travelling and everything to do with him fighting a washed up fella who's last win was against a journeyman in a 6 rounder.

Derbymanc wrote:So what your saying is we'll go off what's happened in the past.

so once again i'll ask

What's the difference between this and Joshua?

You slate Joshua for not fighting for a title even though he's an 11 fight novice, go off at all and sundry that disagree as 'whats the point in Joshua' yet when one of your favourites signs to fight a stiff it's suddenly okay cause Bobby Hackensack did the same thing in 1802.

Oh and it's got nowt to do with Ward not travelling and everything to do with him fighting a washed up clown who's last win was against a journeyman in a 6 rounder.

The difference is a ) He's been out the ring for a long time................ b) He's earned the right by cleaning up his division and beating the 175 champion to a warm up fight If he wants one.....

This isn't a warm up fight though, it's a complete joke of a fight. If he's as good as people say then he needs to get in with someone that will at least give him a test.

And no matter how long he's been out of the ring he should still be streets ahead of Joshua skill wise, therefore you cannot excuse one whilst condemning the other without looking a huge hypocrite.

Check out Perribans record and then tell me it's a worthy fight for Ward, Thompsons got a better record than him.
(Oh and he didn't beat the 175 champ at 175, he had to make him come down )

What is it then If it's not a warm up...

Give it a rest Derby......

So you're happy with GGG v Monroe Jr are you ??.....Not moaned about that !!

Try to be consistent..

Two points derby.

1. Refrain from calling boxers clowns, it's a disgusting thing to say.
2. Dawson chose to move down in weight, he wasn't forced into it.

Morning Hammer,

Your right on 1. and I apologise, I've had the as many arguments as i'm willing to have on the Dawson win, you think it's a great win, I think it's a good win.

Truss, as stated many many times by myself, I take each boxer and fight as I do. I don't agree with any of the top boxers (including GGG, Khan, May, etc etc) taking on useless challenges especially when they're supposed to be the 2nd best boxer in the world.

The fact that you hold different ones up to different standards is a choice by you, doesn't mean people won't pull you up on it.

What's the difference between a warm up fight for the P4P no.2 and a step up for Joshua?

(Oh and don't forget Joshuas coming back from a back injury too)

Groves beat Douglin in his last fight...........He was a "middle" who'd lost two of his last five fights......and Groves had not been out for 15 months.........

Did I moan ..............No.... it was a keep busy fight...

Reason I moan about Joshua is because I don't see him fighting anyone to improve him and beating stiff galore may lead to bad habits and take up prime time....

Ward is older and is in a competitive division..

You think that with Wards natural talent alongside the nosue hes been (uncharecteristically) making about Froch etc you'd expect a tougher challenge

Yes hes been out a long time, but not because of injury, he may not be the sharpest but can bet hes been in the gym most of the time and isnt going to be scared to aggrevate injuries like some have

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Groves beat Douglin in his last fight...........He was a "middle" who'd lost two of his last five fights......and Groves had not been out for 15 months.........

Did I moan ..............No.... it was a keep busy fight...

Reason I moan about Joshua is because I don't see him fighting anyone to improve him and beating stiff galore may lead to bad habits and take up prime time....

Ward is older and is in a competitive division..

Fair enough Truss, but Ward is falling into the same category as GGG and Khan, makes the right noises about wanting to fight the best and then gives us Perriban. If he'd kept his gob shut and done it, you might (I wouldn't) be able to make an excuse for it. As it stands it makes Ward look just as bad as Khan facing Algeiri (Which rumour says may actually be canned due to the negativity around it.)

Derbymanc wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Groves beat Douglin in his last fight...........He was a "middle" who'd lost two of his last five fights......and Groves had not been out for 15 months.........

Did I moan ..............No.... it was a keep busy fight...

Reason I moan about Joshua is because I don't see him fighting anyone to improve him and beating stiff galore may lead to bad habits and take up prime time....

Ward is older and is in a competitive division..

Fair enough Truss, but Ward is falling into the same category as GGG and Khan, makes the right noises about wanting to fight the best and then gives us Perriban. If he'd kept his gob shut and done it, you might (I wouldn't) be able to make an excuse for it. As it stands it makes Ward look just as bad as Khan facing Algeiri (Which rumour says may actually be canned due to the negativity around it.)

Thing is, I don't hear too many people shouting about how the desperately WANT to get in with Ward either. He's not going to give anyone a massive payday but he IS going to give them a bit of a beating. If he had Mayweather's gift for self promotion he'd be spoiled for choice re opponents but for whatever the reason(s), he just not a big draw. Absolute travesty that the masses won't get to see Ward in action but I don't see how the situation will change for him.

Unfortunately I think he needs to make a few concessions to get to the point where people will want to see him Dave. Be it cutting his purse a bit, travelling or moving up (or down a weight) As it stands he comes across as a bit of a diva that wants everything his own way and is difficult for the average fan to warm too (well he is to me anyway.)

In a perfect sport, the number 2's, 3's and 4's would be forced to face him but it just doesn't happen in boxing. Still think he could do a lot better than Periban though.

Derbymanc wrote:Unfortunately I think he needs to make a few concessions to get to the point where people will want to see him Dave. Be it cutting his purse a bit, travelling or moving up (or down a weight) As it stands he comes across as a bit of a diva that wants everything his own way and is difficult for the average fan to warm too (well he is to me anyway.)

In a perfect sport, the number 2's, 3's and 4's would be forced to face him but it just doesn't happen in boxing. Still think he could do a lot better than Periban though.

Ward got nearly $2 million for Edwin Rodrigues..................

Boxing is about money for 99% of fighters and the 1% are idiots.............

He'll be rated on his record................and I think it's a great one..

People would pay more if we had more competitive fights though Truss and more people would watch, just can't defend this choice of opponent.

That's just not true............

Why does Froch want JCC jr............Big money for less trouble than Degale..

I'm talking about in the long run Truss,

From my own experience people are turning away from boxing and only turning up for the big fights because of the matchmaking going on, who wants to sit in every saturday and watch a bunch of one sided (and ultimately boring fights)

I said on the match thread but the 2 young lads fighting for the Euro championship was the best fight of the night because it was 2 roughly even matched lads going at it for something they both wanted. If I (and my mates) knew that was going to happen more often then i'd look at travelling up to some of the local shows more and ultimately follow the bigger fighters more.

Derbymanc wrote:I'm talking about in the long run Truss,

From my own experience people are turning away from boxing and only turning up for the big fights because of the matchmaking going on, who wants to sit in every saturday and watch a bunch of one sided (and ultimately boring fights)

I said on the match thread but the 2 young lads fighting for the Euro championship was the best fight of the night because it was 2 roughly even matched lads going at it for something they both wanted. If I (and my mates) knew that was going to happen more often then i'd look at travelling up to some of the local shows more and ultimately follow the bigger fighters more.

What you're doing is being selective..........

You didn't moan about Groves........................Ward is having one fight against a no mark too..........

Out of the two of them I think he deserves an easy fight more................You not think ???

I'm not particularly chuffed with a Ward-Periban tune up fight but I could just about accept it for now - as long as it actually is a tune up and a short-term fix to blow off some cobwebs before Ward fights a top opponent or big fight in the Autumn, or Winter at the absolute latest. Given all the promotional and contractual issues (as well as the odd injury) Ward's been dealing with I tend to give him more benefit of the doubt than others with regards to how badly his career has stalled in the last couple of years or so, but if the snail-like pace of his career continues in the coming months I'll be losing my patience as well, because there's no real excuse for it now.

In fairness to Ward, he made a categorical statement that he'd accepted a Froch rematch would have to be in the UK and openly said he was now happy to fight over here, just not in Nottingham, which was a fair enough stance. Froch has never been that keen on a Ward rematch if we're being honest, and when Ward set out his position Froch ended up coming back with excuses on Ward's behalf about why he wouldn't really take the fight, because he's a diva, can't make 168 anymore etc. So no fault to be attached to Ward on that one (as a side note, the promotional parties of Sturm and Chudinov are reporting that the WBA, as a result of him ruling out fighting Ward, have stripped Froch of his 'regular' title and that the vacant belt will be contested by Sturm and Chudinov in their upcoming fight - anyone else seen confirmation of that?).

I think what people are worried about is that Ward fights Periban and then six months down the line there's no real change in his circumstances - still no big-name opponent on the horizon, still being coy on whether or not he'll take a crack at the Light-Heavies which most would love to see, more contractual issues rearing their heads etc. As I said, there used to be issues contributing to that state which have seemingly been sorted now, so in theory we shouldn't have to worry. But for whatever reason I just can't shake that nasty feeling that we've all got a bit more frustration in store when it comes to Ward.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Not a bad warm up fight......

Durable..beatable stiff..

Yep..

You don't think calling a guy wiped out in 3 rounds by a non-puncher 'durable' is a laughable comment.....?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Derbymanc wrote:If we're slating the novice Joshua for his opponents then why are people giving the p4p no.2 a pass for fighting stiff ?

Who's GGG fighting next again ??

He'll fight whichever North American stops ducking him.....