Black, White or Green: Why doesn't anyone like Andre Ward?

[lefty]

Doesn't Kov have form for racism?

He put up a picture of himself pointing at a kid wearing a t-shirt with a chimp on it with the message "Adonis looks great!!!" .... I don't know if making comparisons between black people and primates is viewed in the same way in Russia in his defence however. It seems pretty racist to me but then I'm looking it at from a western perspective.

Tanzio who is a lot more familiar with Russian customs might be able to give a better insight into that.

Western style political correctness does not apply in Russia. Most of you would consider my wife a racist, based on western hyper sensitive culture. She is not a racist, although (due to her roots) she is still relatively oblivious of others' sensitivities.

Btw, I have to mention that hyper sensitivity in relation to political correctness is one of the primary reasons that Trump was victorious.

I see what you mean. Russians just tend to speak their mind kind of thing. They don't have that filter like we do in the west.

[littlepug]

Doesn't Kov have form for racism?

probably, just like everybody on the planet

I'm not, are you?

your not what ? the question was " doesn't kov have form for racism" ? I then implied that everybody probably has form for some kind of racism, im not racist in any shape or form but I probably have said something racist in some way at some point in my life just like everybody else

[BAD INTENTIONS]

I like Andre Ward.

[Rexob]

Fantastic fighter and will demolish kovalev I like him.

[Lackeos]

Boring style, dirty tactics, obnoxiously religious, biracial. Basically if you like Hopkins and can tolerate Pat Robertson, then you probably like Andre Ward. If you don't like Hopkins because he's boring, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Hopkins because he's dirty, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Hopkins because he's American, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Bernard Hopkins because he's black, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Pat Robertson because he's white, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Pat Robertson because he's religious, then you won't like Ward. If you don't like Pat Robertson because he exploits religion, then you won't like Ward.

[5burowz]

Never been impressed by his style and he can't punch

[keithmoonhangover]

I like Andre Ward. The best on the planet and he'll prove it tonight.

[thomasjkelley]

I don't agree with the premise of the thread or hardly any remarks in the thread. Andre Ward come across as a great person in my opinion. He loves his country, he is humble, and he is personable. He came from rough upbringing in Oakland, fought racism because he is half White, Mom a drug addict, Father early death, in and out of foster homes, shows respect to others. Son of God is exact opposite of arrogance. If you heard him speak of this, he believes he is just another one of God's children, like the rest of us, nothing special. It is not meant to elevate him, it is meant to ground him. Though I expect Europeans do not appreciate any talk about God or religion, it probably ingratiates him with many Americans and Mexicans. I do not believe anybody dislikes Andre, I just think his personality does not make him stand out and everybody loves a loudmouth.

[Keko]

[Keko]

I like Andre Ward. The best on the planet and he'll prove it tonight.

For me, the best boxer in the last ten years and incredible talent.
It will be tough with Kovalev.

[thomasjkelley]

Kovalev has done nothing to suggest he is racist. Pointing to a monkey and intimating that it looks like a nemesis of yours is nothing more than a personal insult to the person it was directed towards. Anyone claiming it's racist is probably a racist themselves because they are suggesting all Blacks look like monkeys.

[caldo2025]

Black, White or Green: Why doesn't anyone like Andre Ward?

What a silly thread title! People don't know Ward well enough, due to his inactivity, to neither like nor dislike the man.

Most casual fight fans prefer to witness blood and guts trench warfare and are far too ignorant to appreciate genuine skills. So Ward will never become a highly-respected name by those that fail to appreciate the true objective of the sport of boxing, which is to "hit but not get hit."

Well, you may have not agreed with the OP yesterday but you should today because Ward is probably the most disliked boxer on the planet today as a result of that robbery and his ridiculous post fight interview.

[tigermoth87]

For me he represents some of the worst boxing habits. The constant spoiling and clinching, dirty tactics like leading with the head, boring style, never fighting away from home, dodgy judges, biased referees on his side etc.

[Enlightened-One]

Black, White or Green: Why doesn't anyone like Andre Ward?

What a silly thread title! People don't know Ward well enough, due to his inactivity, to neither like nor dislike the man.

Most casual fight fans prefer to witness blood and guts trench warfare and are far too ignorant to appreciate genuine skills. So Ward will never become a highly-respected name by those that fail to appreciate the true objective of the sport of boxing, which is to "hit but not get hit."

Well, you may have not agreed with the OP yesterday but you should today because Ward is probably the most disliked boxer on the planet today as a result of that robbery and his ridiculous post fight interview.

There was no robbery, no travesty, because all that happened was one of the combatants of a very competitive and evenly-matched affair was deemed the victor by a single point on all of the judges’ scorecards.

Sometimes people enthusiastically look for any opportunity to justify their “hatred” of someone, even when it seems completely irrational, but perhaps it says more about themselves than the target of their animosity.

Perhaps these emotionally-disturbed and intellectually-challenged individuals are simply lonely, craving for attention, unhappy with their own lives, so criticising others harshly makes them somehow feel better about themselves.

[Tanzio]

Ward earned the respect of everyone whose opinions are worthwhile last night. It was a tremendous effort on both boxers' parts. Absolutely a great battle of will that essentially ended in a standoff.

[TheGman]

Boring, uses dirty tactics and you can tell he's extremely unfriendly.

X2

[GPTM1403]

I think someone gave a good example of what puts me off, when Hatton fought Mayweather the ref basically penalised him at every step for any attempt at the kind of infighting Ward gets allowed to do every fight of his career. Cue people saying Ward is better at it, 1 that is irrelevant, 2 how do you know when pretty much everyone else is stopped from doing what he does? When you add in the perceived ego to the bias he is shown yeah that is enough to make me not like his career. Just a simple thing of perceived arrogance and perceived bias that puts my back up and I suspect a lot of others.

[Syntax Error]

Never been impressed by his style and he can't punch

Lack of punch power shouldn't be something to denigrate a boxer for.

Willie Pep & Pernell Whitaker couldn't knock out greenfly between them, yet you'd struggle to name many fighters greater than those two.

[GPTM1403]

Never been impressed by his style and he can't punch

Lack of punch power shouldn't be something to denigrate a boxer for.

Willie Pep & Pernell Whitaker couldn't knock out greenfly between them, yet you'd struggle to name many fighters greater than those two.

Not even sure Ward lacks punching power, he's not Golovkin or Kovalev but he isn't as light fisted as someone like Whitaker either - he could probably score more stoppages but the way he fights tends to not apply the kind of constant hitting that creates a chance to get a fight stopped.

[davie]

I don't agree with the premise of the thread or hardly any remarks in the thread. Andre Ward come across as a great person in my opinion. He loves his country, he is humble, and he is personable. He came from rough upbringing in Oakland, fought racism because he is half White, Mom a drug addict, Father early death, in and out of foster homes, shows respect to others. Son of God is exact opposite of arrogance. If you heard him speak of this, he believes he is just another one of God's children, like the rest of us, nothing special. It is not meant to elevate him, it is meant to ground him. Though I expect Europeans do not appreciate any talk about God or religion, it probably ingratiates him with many Americans and Mexicans. I do not believe anybody dislikes Andre, I just think his personality does not make him stand out and everybody loves a loudmouth.

Aside from that sweeping generalisation, you were doing really well there.
Not that I'm overly offended, being a European athiest

[davie]

Kovalev has done nothing to suggest he is racist. Pointing to a monkey and intimating that it looks like a nemesis of yours is nothing more than a personal insult to the person it was directed towards. Anyone claiming it's racist is probably a racist themselves because they are suggesting all Blacks look like monkeys.

And then you fell straight of the cliff.

If you can't see the racist connotations of calling a black man a monkey, or don't think it's in any way offensive, you live on a different planet from me

[davie]

Never been impressed by his style and he can't punch

Lack of punch power shouldn't be something to denigrate a boxer for.

Willie Pep & Pernell Whitaker couldn't knock out greenfly between them, yet you'd struggle to name many fighters greater than those two.

Not even sure Ward lacks punching power, he's not Golovkin or Kovalev but he isn't as light fisted as someone like Whitaker either - he could probably score more stoppages but the way he fights tends to not apply the kind of constant hitting that creates a chance to get a fight stopped.

Spot on.
He's not a murderous puncher but his lack of output and low risk approach is the reason he doesn't get more stoppages.


My frustration isn't that he spoils against Kovalev or his low output in these fights.
It's when he has the likes of Alexander Brand reeling, it's a total shut out late in the fight, his opponent is coming back with nothing and anyone can see the stoppage is there for the taking and he sticks with the same risk free approach he did in the first 6 rounds.

[JeanClaude Van Damme]

1. Not visible.

1. Doesn't fight enough.
2. Doesn't do promotional rounds in major media.
3. Bland/douchey/fake personality.

2. Cancerous boxing style.

[Impractical Poster]

- He RARELY fights outside Oakland.
- His style is unpleasing, for the most part.
- Many probably would label him as smug, to a degree.
- Incredibly inactive.


Personally, I think it's guys like him that are bad for the sport. Sure, he can be appreciated in the eyes of hard core fans, but even then, there aren't a whole lot of them that care for him either.

[Tanzio]

I had obvious problems with Andre (SOGgy) Ward for most of the last half decade. But, I believe in redemption and Ward has achieved that with me. Combined with the squealing euro centrics and breitbart.com enthusiasts whom I now coin the Wailing Wall, Ward has vaulted to being one of my favorite fighters, right next to Krusher.