Paul Smith to fight Andre Ward? (Not for a title)

by Fernando Tue 21 Apr 2015, 4:24 pm

Negotiations to make a fight between Paul Smith and Andre Ward are set to be concluded this week, with the Liverpool super-middleweight set to meet one of boxing's biggest talents on June 20.

Sportsmail understands discussions are virtually finalised for the summer showdown, with a formal announcement of the fight expected imminently.

Elements of the deal are still being rubber-stamped and Ward’s WBA world title is unlikely to be on the line. However, the fight, which will be staged in Oakland, California, will run over the 12-round distance.

It is a huge opportunity for Smith but an even bigger task against a fighter who outclassed Carl Froch in 2011.

Smith, 32, has lost back-to-back world title challenges in Germany against Arthur Abraham, albeit in controversial circumstances in the first of those fights when a wide decision was handed to Abraham from a close bout.

Smith's hope this time round will be that Ward, usually so slick and brilliantly accurate, has diminished through inactivity. The 31-year-old, an Olympic champion and winner of all 27 of his professional fights, has not fought since November 2013.
That period of absence will add a fascinating dimension to a fight that will catch the attention of Froch, who w
ould postpone retirement for a home rematch against Ward.

by **Seanusarrilius** Tue 21 Apr 2015, 4:37 pm

As good a time as humanly possible for Smith to get Ward. That said, he gets beaten to a pulp and stopped inside 9

by **hampo17** Tue 21 Apr 2015, 4:39 pm

Poor fight really, but better than some of the others that were mentioned.

by Nico the gman Tue 21 Apr 2015, 4:42 pm

Absolute beating for Smith, this could totally finish him, Smith's management mad to take this fight.

by **hampo17** Tue 21 Apr 2015, 4:44 pm

Nico the gman wrote:Absolute beating for Smith, this could totally finish him, Smith's management mad to take this fight.

Not really, he'll make more in this fight than he would fighting a European level, and he always defends with his face anyway. Smith also deems himself to be world level now, so I can imagine him pushing for this fight.

by **Seanusarrilius** Tue 21 Apr 2015, 5:05 pm

SMith is cashing in on his decent (ish) showings v AA. Few hundred $ for a shellacking. As long as they pull him out in time, he'll be OK. I would give him a very short leash if I was in his corner

by **88Chris05** Tue 21 Apr 2015, 5:16 pm

Yeah, can see why Smith's people wouldn't have any hesitation in being Ward's tune up. If it were down to me I'd certainly have signed him up as well.

It's already got as good as it's ever going to get for Smith in terms of performing at world level (or something like it) against Abraham. He'll never get as good a chance to win a world title as that, in fact it's highly doubtful he'll ever get any extra kind of chance in the future (assuming Ward's title isn't on the line here), full stop. He's going back to domestic or, at best, European level - it's a question of when, not if. So might as well take the chance of one more hint of the 'big time' before he does that and enjoy having his name in the slightly brighter than usual lights for one last time with a bit more money to show for it.

Ward wins a total twelve-round shutout or stops Smith any time after the eighth round.

by TRUSSMAN66 Tue 21 Apr 2015, 6:40 pm

Nico the gman wrote:Absolute beating for Smith, this could totally finish him, Smith's management mad to take this fight.

Probably be a stinker..........

Smith is right to take the fight..............Keeps his name in the mix..........Ward may be rusty !!....

A resonable performance could lead to an alphabet shot..

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Tue 21 Apr 2015, 10:21 pm

Rocnation have been desperate with Ward trying to pimp him out to anybody. Smith is the sucker who said yes.

by Strongback Tue 21 Apr 2015, 11:19 pm

Send a no hoper fighter to America to take a beating........sounds right up Eddie's street.

Hearn has to make ties with Roc Nation somehow. What better way to do it than offer up a sacrificial lamb.

by Hammersmith harrier Tue 21 Apr 2015, 11:53 pm

Strongback wrote:Send a no hoper fighter to America to take a beating........sounds right up Eddie's street.

Hearn has to make ties with Roc Nation somehow. What better way to do it than offer up a sacrificial lamb.

Doesn't every single promoter on planet earth do that or is it something unique that Eddie does?

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Wed 22 Apr 2015, 7:19 am

Wouldnt been have Eddie pushing him Strongy being fair. Paul would have weighed the decision up plus factored in the fact that he's (Paul Smith) not very good and there isn't many more paydays out there for him.

His punditry credentials will be questioned when he declares that he will beat Ward at the first press conference Laugh

by Strongback Wed 22 Apr 2015, 8:26 am

Here's hoping Smith shows some humility when he gets battered........unlikely though.

by Rodney Wed 22 Apr 2015, 8:48 am

Awful ! Has Smith beaten anyone above domestic level ?? Don't see any point in this matchup whatsoever.

Cheers, Rodders

by Derbymanc Wed 22 Apr 2015, 8:50 am

I can see why Smith and his team have taken this fight but for the life of me can't see any reason as to why Ward's team have picked this, a complete nothing fight really.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Wed 22 Apr 2015, 9:24 am

Derbymanc wrote:I can see why Smith and his team have taken this fight but for the life of me can't see any reason as to why Ward's team have picked this, a complete nothing fight really.

They have offered the fight to every Tom, Dick and Paul Smith thumbsup

by Derbymanc Wed 22 Apr 2015, 9:37 am

by Herman Jaeger Wed 22 Apr 2015, 9:49 am

What's the big deal, earn a few quid off his decent showing against Artur and tell the grandkids he once boxed Andre Ward. Must be exciting for him on a personal level, the chances of him ever sharing a ring with Ward this time last year would have got you good odds.

by Derbymanc Wed 22 Apr 2015, 9:51 am

It's good for him Herman, I just don't see what Ward gets out of it. Unless he absolutely dominates every single second or blasts him out in a couple then I can't see any gain for Ward at all.

by Nico the gman Wed 22 Apr 2015, 9:53 am

Haven't got a clue what Smith is getting for this fight, but even a ring rusty Ward batters him.
Ward loses his ring rust by sticking it to Smith, total mismatch.
Smith is a good domestic and European fighter no more than that.

by Herman Jaeger Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:13 am

Derbymanc wrote:It's good for him Herman, I just don't see what Ward gets out of it. Unless he absolutely dominates every single second or blasts him out in a couple then I can't see any gain for Ward at all.

I think Ward just wants someone who can be relied on to give him a workout without posing too much of a threat. It's an ok fight as Ward has made it clear he wants to get back in with a tune up. Shake off the cobwebs before Froch in Nottingham. Ward needs to remember he can't dictate to Froch. That fight is not happening in London. And as Truss says, a decent showing from Smith could get another alphabet shot.

by TopHat24/7 Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:18 am

Better than Mayorga......

by **hampo17** Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:22 am

Herman Jaeger wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:It's good for him Herman, I just don't see what Ward gets out of it. Unless he absolutely dominates every single second or blasts him out in a couple then I can't see any gain for Ward at all.

I think Ward just wants someone who can be relied on to give him a workout without posing too much of a threat. It's an ok fight as Ward has made it clear he wants to get back in with a tune up. Shake off the cobwebs before Froch in Nottingham. Ward needs to remember he can't dictate to Froch. That fight is not happening in London. And as Truss says, a decent showing from Smith could get another alphabet shot.

Why should it happen in Nottingham? Froch didn't fight in Wards hometown, and if Froch makes those kind of demands he does so knowing Ward will walk away.

by Herman Jaeger Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:29 am

If Ward wants to back down that's up to him , if he wants to walk away from a good payday maybe he's doing well on the stocks. Froch never asked for neutral ground for the super six final. Ward can't dictate to Froch bottom line.

by Hammersmith harrier Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:29 am

hampo171 wrote:
Herman Jaeger wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:It's good for him Herman, I just don't see what Ward gets out of it. Unless he absolutely dominates every single second or blasts him out in a couple then I can't see any gain for Ward at all.

I think Ward just wants someone who can be relied on to give him a workout without posing too much of a threat. It's an ok fight as Ward has made it clear he wants to get back in with a tune up. Shake off the cobwebs before Froch in Nottingham. Ward needs to remember he can't dictate to Froch. That fight is not happening in London. And as Truss says, a decent showing from Smith could get another alphabet shot.

Why should it happen in Nottingham? Froch didn't fight in Wards hometown, and if Froch makes those kind of demands he does so knowing Ward will walk away.

It's fairly obvious that Froch is at the point in his career where he wants everything entirely on his terms or not at all, I don't think he's overly bothered with fighting Ward again and if he does then Nottingham it is. He brings the money in so he dictates the fight.

by **hampo17** Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:31 am

Herman Jaeger wrote:If Ward wants to back down that's up to him , if he wants to walk away from a good payday maybe he's doing well on the stocks. Froch never asked for neutral ground for the super six final. Ward can't dictate to Froch bottom line.

Sorry but making a demand which you know the other person will walk away from, is just as bad in my opinion. If he does make that a sticking point, similar to Hearn wanting the Frampton vs Quigg fight in Manchester, he's doing so because as HH says, he doesn't want the fight but wants to come out of it smelling like roses to some of the fans.

by Hammersmith harrier Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:40 am

hampo171 wrote:
Herman Jaeger wrote:If Ward wants to back down that's up to him , if he wants to walk away from a good payday maybe he's doing well on the stocks. Froch never asked for neutral ground for the super six final. Ward can't dictate to Froch bottom line.

Sorry but making a demand which you know the other person will walk away from, is just as bad in my opinion. If he does make that a sticking point, similar to Hearn wanting the Frampton vs Quigg fight in Manchester, he's doing so because as HH says, he doesn't want the fight but wants to come out of it smelling like roses to some of the fans.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that and to be honest Froch has fought and beaten far too many top men for his fans to care about a rematch with Ward, not fighting Degale in my opinion is potentially more damaging. It follows the Collins-Calzaghe-Froch dynaminc, it would be harsh considering he fought Groves twice and that Callum Smith isn't too far round the corner either but it's a factor. For the sake of British boxing at 168lbs I wish he would retire.

by Herman Jaeger Wed 22 Apr 2015, 10:46 am

Yeah would second that nobody really cares about Ward rematch(particularly if it's outside Nottingham,) but he has to fight DeGale if the latter pulls off an upset which he might just be capable of. Froch knows that.

by **88Chris05** Wed 22 Apr 2015, 11:19 am

Given that he's basically on the finishing line of his career now, if Froch wasn't interested in fighting Degale this spring then personally I see no reason why he'd have any interest in fighting him further down the line, Herman, regardless of whether or not Degale wins the IBF belt against Dirrell. If Degale were to bag that belt and then Froch fought him I'd be wondering why Froch was now taking the fight as a challenger to Degale's title, when he could easily have just defended against him as champion. Vacating the title would have made absolutely no sense in that case.

As to whether or not Froch vacating the IBF belt rather than fighting Degale will harm his legacy to any kind of degree, it all depends on how Degale does in the future. Already I've noticed that the idea of Froch being wary of what Degale brings to the table, rather than just being a case of him genuinely not having the motivation to fight a smaller, less proven name, is gathering a lot of pace. Now don't get me wrong, Degale has looked very well in his two fights with Matchroom, but Gonzalez and Periban are a good two or three levels below Froch. As things stand, I believe Froch deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt and that his official line of just not being motivated for Degale and not feeling it adds anything to his legacy should be taken at face value.

After all, a fighter never runs out of opposition. There's always a mandatory defence to be had or a young up and comer making noise. If Froch stayed on to fight Degale and won, it'd only lead to a similar scenario with someone else. The fact that Froch is right at the very end of his career (just like Collins when Calzaghe was emerging, and just like Calzaghe was when Froch became his mandatory) means that, no matter what Degale does from now on, it'll always be virtually impossible to make it look like a case of Froch outright running away from him or really not fancying the challenge. But I think Degale is really going to have to go some to make the majority look back in a few years and think that he had Froch scared in any case.

by Herman Jaeger Wed 22 Apr 2015, 11:33 am

I think Chris he'd be more willing to fight a proven DeGale with a title because then he'd get a lot more credit for the win and the fight's worth more money.

by Coxy001 Wed 22 Apr 2015, 12:08 pm

Pretty woeful fight, but guess Ward has been out so for so long that he's hardly gonna jump back in against someone like a GGG or Kovalev (if he can get the former up or go up in weight against the latter).

If Degale beats Dirrell (who if he turns up and fights WILL beat JD - that's a huge if though as he doesn't have much of a ticker) then expect the trench digging, grenade munching, never died from a kamikaze attack, chav ragging warrior Carl Froch to suddenly get interested in this fight.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 7:22 am

Eddie Hearn on Ward v Smith wrote:Yeah, listen koogz, people will moan as they always do *puts on mock voice* oh why is Paul smith getting a shot at Andre ward, he doesn't deserve it blah blah blah *ends mock voice* but what you've gotta understand koogz is that this is the opportunity of a lifetime for Paul smith. Do you understand what I'm saying? Let's not forget also that ward is coming off a very long layoff so he'll have ring rust, and let me tell ya I've never seen Paul so focused in my life so believe me koogz this fight ain't as one sided as some people like to make out.

You know people like to talk about this fight being huge for Paul smith but this is also a big fight for Andre ward. Listen, wonderful fighter, one of the best in the world p4p but he doesn't sell tickets koog. He doesn't generate revenue so actually, when you take all that into account, Andre ward is not the superstar some people make out so dont give me all this about Paul not deserving the fight.

I just don't understand some people koog, it's like they're never happy. Listen yes Paul smith is an underdog going into this fight, yes Andre ward is the favorite but why not just enjoy the journey and get behind one of our own.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 7:23 am

This wont be too far away from an actual Hearn iFilm interview soon....

by **88Chris05** Thu 23 Apr 2015, 10:08 am

Good effort that, SOF. We should do an Eddie bingo card like we had for Watt and Froch.

"I'm Carl Froch's friend as well as his promoter."

"Gutted."

"Koog / Koogz."

"I hate to dishearten the fans, but....."

"What you've got to realise / understand is...."

"I'm a boxing fan."

"Life-changing money."

"(Insert name of non-Matchroom fighter) needs (insert name of Matchroom fighter), (insert name of Matchroom fighter) doesn't need (insert name of non-Matchroom fighter)."

"It's a stadium fight."

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 10:17 am

88Chris05 wrote:Good effort that, SOF.

Wish I could take credit but I pulled that from another site.

But that did tickle me and when I was reading it, I was 50/50 on whether this was an actual iFilm interview transcript Laugh

Yer Eddie Hear bingo is a must

by milkyboy Thu 23 Apr 2015, 11:25 am

Obvious pastiche SOF. No mention of strawberries.

What's the record for consecutive losing word title fights?

Remarkable really when you think of all the good fighters down the years that never got a title shot, when smith gets 3 on the bounce. He's:

- never beaten a fighter of note
- Never won a European or commonwealth belt,
- been starched by the number 2 and 3 super middles in this country

He's not even the best super middle in his own family and here he is getting his third consecutive world title shot. Now there's a well managed fighter.

Will anybody seriously watch this? I have planks warping in my garden that make more interesting viewing.

by Guest Thu 23 Apr 2015, 11:36 am

milkyboy wrote:Obvious pastiche SOF. No mention of strawberries.

What's the record for consecutive losing word title fights?

Remarkable really when you think of all the good fighters down the years that never got a title shot, when smith gets 3 on the bounce. He's:

- never beaten a fighter of note
- Never won a European or commonwealth belt,
- been starched by the number 2 and 3 super middles in this country

He's not even the best super middle in his own family and here he is getting his third consecutive world title shot. Now there's a well managed fighter.

Will anybody seriously watch this? I have planks warping in my garden that make more interesting viewing.

Think it's only of interest to see how good Ward looks and how quickly Froch announces his retirement if Smith gets hammered

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 11:39 am

IF?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

by Hammersmith harrier Thu 23 Apr 2015, 11:41 am

I have a feeling that would be Juan Laporte Milky with 6.

by Guest Thu 23 Apr 2015, 11:47 am

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:IF?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

He'll definitely get beaten but it's whether or not he gets hammered. Ward may just use it as a work out to shake off a bit of rust. If he turns the screw there's a danger he goes back to being the fighter that no-one wants to take on and does himself out of a payday.

I'm reminded of Haye when he fooled Warren into thinking he was struggling to make CW for the Enzo Macc fight in order to secure himself a bigger purse. Ward may have to "look bad" in order to get himself a bigger slice of the pie

by milkyboy Thu 23 Apr 2015, 1:51 pm

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I have a feeling that would be Juan Laporte Milky with 6.

Quite impressive losses in world title fights... I was angling for consecutive fights that were unsuccessful world title attempts though hammy

by **88Chris05** Thu 23 Apr 2015, 1:58 pm

Think Barkley had three losses on the spin which were all world title bouts, all at Middleweight, too. Duran, where he lost his WBC belt, and then Nunn for the IBF and Benn for the WBO.

by **88Chris05** Thu 23 Apr 2015, 1:59 pm

Mind you, the Duran fight was an unsuccessful defence of a title rather than an unsuccessful attempt at taking one from another fighter. If this gets sanctioned for the WBA title and Smith loses he'll have few equals in boxing history!

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:15 pm

Well Smith is not ranked in the Top 15 but this is the WBA were talking about.

by Guest Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:17 pm

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Well Smith is not ranked in the Top 15 but this is the WBA were talking about.

Give it time, it's still only April

by milkyboy Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:28 pm

I hope they sanction it. It would be a travesty to deny smith his place in history

by Hammersmith harrier Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:32 pm

88Chris05 wrote:Think Barkley had three losses on the spin which were all world title bouts, all at Middleweight, too. Duran, where he lost his WBC belt, and then Nunn for the IBF and Benn for the WBO.

Leo Gamez would be another but he had a rather extraordinary career of losing in world title fights; just the ten, Mijares in a rather Derry Matthews kind of way, can't imagine there would be anybody else. The best of the lot and most controversially however would be Jersey Joe Walcott, also damn Tony Baldoni.

by Guest Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:33 pm

milkyboy wrote:I hope they sanction it. It would be a travesty to deny smith his place in history

I hope they make a special belt in tribute to him out of the best material in the world, SMITHIUM

by **88Chris05** Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:33 pm

Did Eubank take any warm-up / keep busy fights between losing to Calzaghe and the two Thompson fights? If not, that's three consecutive losses on the bounce in title fights.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 23 Apr 2015, 2:45 pm

milkyboy wrote:I hope they sanction it. It would be a travesty to deny smith his place in history

Aye, something to tell the gran-kids boxing

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