Ward vs Sullivan Signed

Looks like Ward's toughest fight since Froch.

Would rather watch Brook vs Bizier

Ward should outclass Barerra. From what I've seen of Barerra he seems alright but wouldn't have a hope against Kovalev or Stevenson. He's on the up tho and and his style should make it an entertaining fight.

Wards first fight at light heavy so fair play to him not going for anyone easier.

Coxy001 wrote:Would rather watch Brook vs Bizier

Ha. Yeah, Ward fights are rarely fun.

Bizier is not a bad watch by the way! He has a bit of the Micky Ward, straight ahead brawler about him. He'll get chewed up but he won't crumble like Dan.

Barrera is there as a stepping stone for Ward so it should be a straightforward win for Andre. However, Barrera does appear to be quite heavy-handed so if he lands it'll be a good indication of where Ward's whiskers are at since a) his long layoff and b) as a fully-fledged LHW. TKO7 unless the unthinkable happens.

Great fight, should be a good yard stick for the move up to LHW, glad its all sorted

Apparently it was an absolute nightmare to put together

Ward is harder to watch than Floyd. Floyd was in some good fights early on. Ward I great, but he is boring.

#bumfight

That's you struggling to put on underwear isn't it Toppy?

Looks like Ward vs Kovalev has been pencilled in for Nov 19.

Really intriguing fight.

Ha, I have tickets to Brook Vs Bizier...

For free though!

I wouldn't pay for it, though Luke Campbell just got added to the bill.

Ward Barrera seemed to take ages to get signed, Ward just seems to make everything hard work, even sometimes watching him fight is difficult. Fancy Ward massively, though I've not watched a whole heap of Barrera. Cant wait for the Kovalev fight, that will be the test.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Ha, I have tickets to Brook Vs Bizier...

For free though!

I wouldn't pay for it, though Luke Campbell just got added to the bill.

Ward Barrera seemed to take ages to get signed, Ward just seems to make everything hard work, even sometimes watching him fight is difficult. Fancy Ward massively, though I've not watched a whole heap of Barrera. Cant wait for the Kovalev fight, that will be the test.

Luke Campbell vs Gary Sykes is an interesting fight. Strange matchmaking from Hearn (or is it just me)?

Think he wanted Campbell back in a competitive fight with someone that's there to win, drive a bit more alertness into Campbell's game hopefully with him knowing he has to be alert as Sykes won just roll over. Could be a good fight but fancy Campbells class to prevail.

It'll be entertaining because Sykes turns up to give it a go every time and is a pretty decent boxer. He's not going to hurt Campbell so it's a good comeback fight for him with a guy who won't give him a seconds peace.

Always liked Sykes. Shame he didn't have a bit of power. Reckon Campbell will be huge in comparison tho.

Oh and Ward beats Barerra on points.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Think he wanted Campbell back in a competitive fight with someone that's there to win, drive a bit more alertness into Campbell's game hopefully with him knowing he has to be alert as Sykes won just roll over. Could be a good fight but fancy Campbells class to prevail.

You'd think that they'd grab a rematch with Mendy if Campbell's going to be half the fighter we imagined.

In tennis they used to say "anytime you play a Spaniard on clay, no matter what his ranking, expect a tough match", wonder if the same could be said in boxing about Cuban boxers with decent amateur records? Never watched Barrera but his unbeaten has a solid enough record and will probably outsize Ward and not in that Paul Smith fatso way either

Ha, Paul Smith Vs Andre Ward, that must be one of the biggest mismatches of recent times. Only Garcia Vs Salka trumps it I reckon.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Ha, Paul Smith Vs Andre Ward, that must be one of the biggest mismatches of recent times. Only Garcia Vs Salka trumps it I reckon.

If you go back a bit further, how about Paul Lloyd vs Marco Antonio Barrera back in 1999?? To quote one of the boxing mag writers "It was like watching a baby walk into a threshing machine". Ouch.

Lockett against Pavlik takes some beating, at least Lloyd, Jennings and the like had fought at British and European level before their title shots.

Salita versus Khan??

TopHat24/7 wrote:Salita versus Khan??

That's a good call - that was shocking.

Kovaelv vs Ward. Who would you have Haz??

AdamT wrote:Kovaelv vs Ward. Who would you have Haz??

Kovalev if it was tomorrow. If Ward looks good against Barrera than I might sway towards him. See how he looks I guess.

I am on the fence. Gun to head, I might pick Ward (he is some talent). But he could get hurt along the way. Kovalev can punch and box. Tough fight!

Ward beats Kovalev. Ward is damn hard as hell to hit clean. Ward has the superior footwork and hand speed

Ward can bend the rules to suit him. He is a better fighter than Hopkins and much younger. I still am really impressed by Kovalev and wouldn't be too surprised if he won.

Like I say, hard to back against a boxer like Ward. The guy hasn't lost a fight since he was 12 years old. He is some talent.

He's incredibly talented but I suspect his chin's not the best (hence all the nullifying and grappling). Darnell Boone dropped him pretty well (didn't he also drop Kovalev?) and so you do wonder.

It's his inactivity (and lack of activity against world class fighters especially). Paul Smith? I mean come on.

I have to admit I do worry slightly about the whiskers. Kovalev is good and big enough to land at some point.

I remember Froch telling Ward, he had a suspect chin and he would dent it. Perhaps he wasn't good enough to land flush.

Boone pushed Kovalev hard, he knocked out Stevenson first time round and have him he'll second time. Enigma how he's lost to so many poor fighters. You get the sense had he been given full opportunity good management etc. And was properly dedicated he could have been something.

... he cudda been a contender

Ward has been good enough to avoid getting really chin checked since the Boone fight. You can look at that two ways... if no-one else has been able to do it, how will kovalev... or has he ever fought someone with the size power and ability of kovalev in that time? It's a very tough fight to call.

Two factors re the Boone fight. 1. Ward was just a kid then. 2. He was in serious trouble, helped by a timely intervention of the bell, and never really asserted dominance for the rest of the fight (though it was only a 6 rounder I think).

Kovalev can be hurt too, but it's not like Ward is going to be bombing him out of there.

Personally I don't doubt that kovalev will really hurt Ward if he can breach the defences... it's just about the 'if'. Fascinating match up, let's hope it happens.

Kov has a pretty decent size & strength advantage too. But doesn't stalk as well as GGG so I'm not sure if he'll be able to properly get to Ward. 36 mins is a long time though.....

milkyboy wrote:... he cudda been a contender

Ward has been good enough to avoid getting really chin checked since the Boone fight. You can look at that two ways... if no-one else has been able to do it, how will kovalev... or has he ever fought someone with the size power and ability of kovalev in that time? It's a very tough fight to call.

Two factors re the Boone fight. 1. Ward was just a kid then. 2. He was in serious trouble, helped by a timely intervention of the bell, and never really asserted dominance for the rest of the fight (though it was only a 6 rounder I think).

Kovalev can be hurt too, but it's not like Ward is going to be bombing him out of there.

Personally I don't doubt that kovalev will really hurt Ward if he can breach the defences... it's just about the 'if'. Fascinating match up, let's hope it happens.

Pretty much my thoughts, only summed up much better.

milkyboy wrote:... he cudda been a contender

Ward has been good enough to avoid getting really chin checked since the Boone fight. You can look at that two ways... if no-one else has been able to do it, how will kovalev... or has he ever fought someone with the size power and ability of kovalev in that time? It's a very tough fight to call.

Two factors re the Boone fight. 1. Ward was just a kid then. 2. He was in serious trouble, helped by a timely intervention of the bell, and never really asserted dominance for the rest of the fight (though it was only a 6 rounder I think).

Kovalev can be hurt too, but it's not like Ward is going to be bombing him out of there.

Personally I don't doubt that kovalev will really hurt Ward if he can breach the defences... it's just about the 'if'. Fascinating match up, let's hope it happens.

Provisionally booked for Nov 19th by all accounts.

Think Ward will fight Barrera and A.N.Other (Paul Smith rematch anyone?) and Kovalev also gets a gimme (which is a shame really - I'd rather they just cracked on).

Kovalev's unusual in that he isn't one-dimensional and he throws a lot of punches (rather than loading up big shots).

Kovalev has a few facets to his game, he isn't just a big puncher. I fancy him to beat Ward, at this moment in time anyway, we'll see when Ward faces Barrera how good he looks.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Kovalev has a few facets to his game, he isn't just a big puncher. I fancy him to beat Ward, at this moment in time anyway, we'll see when Ward faces Barrera how good he looks.

You'll probably still be saying that after Ward has won

I do like me a bit of Russian.

AlexHuckerby wrote:I do like me a bit of Russian.

And Yuri from Admin has never been the same again?

Wards chin is decent enough. He was actually happy to walk through some of Frochs more tired shots in order to land his own. He's certainly not worried about it himself.

Kovalev won't land much though. One sided victory to Ward

Kovalev will stop him

Love how everyone seems totally split on Kovalev against Wars. One person says Ward will school him, the other tells you Kov KOs him.

Ward SD.

Have just seen that the Ward-Barrera fight is in Oakland. If Barrera has the fight of his life and does really well, he's getting jobbed on the cards.

Still think Ward TKO7 though.

Can't wait for this fight, really intriguing.

I think its interesting because Ward is fighting someone he may not be able to bully physically.

Its a great fight and there should be far more hype around it, props to Ward for taking it.

Isn't Barrera mandatory for Kovalev?

I fully expect Ward to win, but I think Barrera will be tougher than people anticipate, Ward wasn't a puncher at Super Middleweight, so will he be able to put the hurt on a big light heavyweight?

Ward wide UD. Have seen only a couple of Barrera fights and have recently looked into his career as a pro.

Speed is going to be the difference here. He won't get anywhere near Ward. Barrera is really seriously slow.

I could be wrong of course....but Ward should win, and win well.