BoxRec

When it comes to Andre Ward your dealing with extremely well prepared intelligent boxer both mentally and physically, so regardless where the fight were to take place I don't think it will make that much difference other than having the crowd behind Carl Froch should it take place in England.
Andre has been out of the ring for a year and 4 months so it will be interesting to see how he performs when he does return, sometimes even the best fighters have problems due to inactivity.
I take Andre Ward very seriously and still consider him to be one of the best boxers in the world and I don't underestimate him whatsoever, he's just one of those few fighters who takes his game and approach to the sport in a very professional manner.
Who doesn't like Carl Froch, the guy has been nothing short of amazing and challenged himself more times than I can remember and taken opponents on when they were fresh and no where near their sell by date.
Even if this is the fight Carl wants and doesn't get it for whatever reason he certainly has earned the right to call the shots against almost anyone else around him perhaps barring Andre Ward.
Hopefully Carl get the big Las Vegas fight against someone to fulfil an ambition he has and one that he deserves many times over.
It would be great to see him out here on the west coast and a fight I would attend that only an act of god would prevent me from doing so.
I know the WBA have ordered both Froch and Ward to fight one another,but they can order a double pepperoni with extra cheese from pizza hut and it probably won't show up.
These two guys don't need a strap to fight for as their names alone are big enough to bypass whatever instructions they're giving by almost anybody, when you've done what Ward and Froch have done it buys you serious weight and the WBA shouldn't forget that.

diddy wrote:Roy Jones was a waste of potential? The greatest fighter of the 1990's decade sure was a waste.

The "greatest fighter of the 1990s" ducked and ran from post-coma Buster Douglas, Dariusz Michalczewski, Vassily Jirov, etc because they too big or too popular for him to demand fighting for a pittance in Pensacola, and Roy ended up fighting the likes of David Telesco and Richard Hill instead. The best fighters Roy Jones ever fought were well after his prime when he started to become desperate for money. Remember when he was so afraid to leave the US because he got robbed at Seoul? Now he's buddies with Putin. Those exotic cars and champion fighting chickens apparently don't pay for themselves.

Yeah, Roy's potential was wasted. Even Seth Abraham, the guy who signed Roy to HBO, considers the contract they did for Roy a "mistake". (since you'll demand a link - http://www.secondsout.com/columns/thoma ... -challenge). But I guess since you think Roy Jones Jr. was the "greatest fighter of the 90s," then Andre Ward's one fight against Edwin Rodriguez in the last two years puts him on pace to challenge Sugar Ray Robinson for GOAT honors. Meanwhile, I hope you can get excited when he invariably ends up fighting on a very special edition of Shobox, beltless, against the likes of Don George.

danamba7 wrote:

expe wrote:

danamba7 wrote:
Your opinion, I see a prime Ward outpointing a prime Froch all day long but not stopping him. Froch is too tough and Ward doesn't hit hard enough (although not feather fisted).

Froch is past it now anyway and I could see Ward taking him out through sheer volume of punches, Froch has never been hard to hit.

On what basis is Froch "past it"? On the decline maybe but not past it.

He peaked years ago, possibly Bute, maybe earlier. He's 37 and he hasn't put in a top quality performance in a few years.

Ward already traveled 2900+ miles to dominate Froch once.
He's not likely to add an ocean to the trip for a guy he already beat.
As long as he has HBO fights left he doesn't need Froch to make money or win belts.

Andre will probably take steps to fight Dirrell before bothering with people he already beat.

Perseus wrote:Ward already traveled 2900+ miles to dominate Froch once.
He's not likely to add an ocean to the trip for a guy he already beat.
As long as he has HBO fights left he doesn't need Froch to make money or win belts.

Andre will probably take steps to fight Dirrell before bothering with people he already beat.

Disagree.

Froch/Groves rocked Wembley.

You think Froch/Ward won't do a huge business as well?

If they split it all 50/50, I bet Ward takes a big interest in that...

You think Ward actually cares about that?
Nobody this side of the pond cares about the crowd at Wembley.
Those big crowds may be a selling point for the Brits but they mean nothing to Americans.

With HBO in his corner Ward doesn't need a guy he already beat.

Perseus wrote: Andre will probably take steps to fight Dirrell before bothering with people he already beat.

The Andre's are friends. You can forget about them fighting. This leaves very few good options. But hey. get excited about Andre Ward/Bum. I'm sure it'll do wonders for his historical ranking!

I don't really get why Ward fans are so anti the idea of a Ward Froch rematch, like it is somehow beneath him. His career post super six has been a bitter disappointment and anything he can do to get himself back in the spotlight has gotta be better than what he's been doing for the last few years. I love the idea that Froch is so far beneath Ward that it would be better for him to spend the rest of his career either not fighting or fighting nobodies. Maybe he'll surprise us all and move up and fight the winner of Kovalev Pascal though...

fergusg wrote:Andre Ward’s biggest purse of his career was the $2m he earned during his last fight against Edwin Rodriguez. In the fight prior, he earned $1,367,500 to dominate a weight-drained and highly-vulnerable Chad Dawson.

Mikkel Kessler earned $4m from his rematch against Froch . George Groves earned a similar amount for his rematch with Carl ($3.4m).

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the biggest payday any Gennady Golovkin victim has received, was the $600K that Daniel Geale earned to quit. None of his opponents have ever commanded that sort of fight purse.

Abraham-Stieglitz shared a total fight purse of $3,135,000 for their fight in March last year.

Sergey Kovalev only earned $500K when he dominated Bernard Hopkins.

Is there another fighter on the planet that Andre Ward is capable of earning a $4m+ payday against?

There’s one thing for certain, Froch will not be on the proverbial “B-side” if fight negotiations take place between himself and Ward. So any ludicrous ideas of splitting the pot on a 50-50 basis should be quickly dismissed as an utterly absurd and moronic notion!

Only a moron would think Ward cares about B-side/A-side.
The Froch side will make concessions to the man who already kicked his ass or watch him move on to another opponent.

CheckHook wrote:I don't really get why Ward fans are so anti the idea of a Ward Froch rematch, like it is somehow beneath him. His career post super six has been a bitter disappointment and anything he can do to get himself back in the spotlight has gotta be better than what he's been doing for the last few years. I love the idea that Froch is so far beneath Ward that it would be better for him to spend the rest of his career either not fighting or fighting nobodies. Maybe he'll surprise us all and move up and fight the winner of Kovalev Pascal though...

Its more that Froch has had no interest in fighting Ward again, but now this has come up, he's daring him to come to Nottingham and fighting him, while making the worst excuses I have ever heard for losing the first fight, worse than the ash cloud for Kessler and worse than Haye with his toe.

CheckHook wrote:I don't really get why Ward fans are so anti the idea of a Ward Froch rematch, like it is somehow beneath him.

That's it. "Andre Ward beats everyone ever" works better when we have a smaller set of fights on which to base that than if he was, you know, an active boxer.

I think Ward will get back to staying busy......wait on ggg in a yr or so. That will be a super fight so Froch should concentrate on fighting no hoper Chavez, u know cuz hes paid his dues lol

expe wrote:

CheckHook wrote:I don't really get why Ward fans are so anti the idea of a Ward Froch rematch, like it is somehow beneath him. His career post super six has been a bitter disappointment and anything he can do to get himself back in the spotlight has gotta be better than what he's been doing for the last few years. I love the idea that Froch is so far beneath Ward that it would be better for him to spend the rest of his career either not fighting or fighting nobodies. Maybe he'll surprise us all and move up and fight the winner of Kovalev Pascal though...

Its more that Froch has had no interest in fighting Ward again, but now this has come up, he's daring him to come to Nottingham and fighting him, while making the worst excuses I have ever heard for losing the first fight, worse than the ash cloud for Kessler and worse than Haye with his toe.

Surely though if you're a Ward fan you just want to see him get busy and actually start building his resume again.... Ward is not the type of guy to move up and take on the winner of Kovalev Pascal and he's not the type of guy to take risks for short money, so realistically what is that that Ward fans want? For him to fight once every year or two against guys like Rodriguez? Or maybe hope he can lure JCC into a big fight and beat on him for 12? I just think, if I'm a Ward fan I'm itching to see him fight the best, regardless of ego or A-side B-side bollocks. Ward needs to get busy and a Froch rematch is a good place to start.

CheckHook wrote:

expe wrote:

CheckHook wrote:I don't really get why Ward fans are so anti the idea of a Ward Froch rematch, like it is somehow beneath him. His career post super six has been a bitter disappointment and anything he can do to get himself back in the spotlight has gotta be better than what he's been doing for the last few years. I love the idea that Froch is so far beneath Ward that it would be better for him to spend the rest of his career either not fighting or fighting nobodies. Maybe he'll surprise us all and move up and fight the winner of Kovalev Pascal though...

Its more that Froch has had no interest in fighting Ward again, but now this has come up, he's daring him to come to Nottingham and fighting him, while making the worst excuses I have ever heard for losing the first fight, worse than the ash cloud for Kessler and worse than Haye with his toe.

Surely though if you're a Ward fan you just want to see him get busy and actually start building his resume again.... Ward is not the type of guy to move up and take on the winner of Kovalev Pascal and he's not the type of guy to take risks for short money, so realistically what is that that Ward fans want? For him to fight once every year or two against guys like Rodriguez? Or maybe hope he can lure JCC into a big fight and beat on him for 12? I just think, if I'm a Ward fan I'm itching to see him fight the best, regardless of ego or A-side B-side bollocks. Ward needs to get busy and a Froch rematch is a good place to start.

I'd like to see the fight, but Froch is being a cock about it, claiming he lost because the fight was supposed to be at Madison Square Garden, then it got moved to Atlantic City, it was cold and it was nearly Christmas and he wanted to be with his family is pathetic.

fergusg wrote:

Perseus wrote:

fergusg wrote:Andre Ward’s biggest purse of his career was the $2m he earned during his last fight against Edwin Rodriguez. In the fight prior, he earned $1,367,500 to dominate a weight-drained and highly-vulnerable Chad Dawson.

Mikkel Kessler earned $4m from his rematch against Froch . George Groves earned a similar amount for his rematch with Carl ($3.4m).

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the biggest payday any Gennady Golovkin victim has received, was the $600K that Daniel Geale earned to quit. None of his opponents have ever commanded that sort of fight purse.

Abraham-Stieglitz shared a total fight purse of $3,135,000 for their fight in March last year.

Sergey Kovalev only earned $500K when he dominated Bernard Hopkins.

Is there another fighter on the planet that Andre Ward is capable of earning a $4m+ payday against?

There’s one thing for certain, Froch will not be on the proverbial “B-side” if fight negotiations take place between himself and Ward. So any ludicrous ideas of splitting the pot on a 50-50 basis should be quickly dismissed as an utterly absurd and moronic notion!

Only a moron would think Ward cares about B-side/A-side.
The Froch side will make concessions to the man who already kicked his ass or watch him move on to another opponent.

You really don't think that boxing is a professional sport do you? The biggest payday that Ward can gain is to face Froch again. It's as simple as that! Ward can either keeping fighting in California and earn relatively small paydays or he gets handsomely rewarded to face Froch again in Nottingham.

Try paying attention to what actually happens instead of your fantasy land where boxers swallow their egos and make all the best choices for their careers.
Ward has sat all this time making nothing because he can't get along with his own promoter(in a nutshell), but he's just going to roll over for Froch.
Yeah, don't hold your breath waiting for that.
You seem to follow the sport fairly close, I find it hard to believe that you would be surprised if Ward moved on without any real effort at making a rematch with Froch.

It'll be 50/50 or there will probably be no fight. I agree with what has been posted prior. Highly unlikely Andre takes less money than the man he clearly beat.

ward could probably fight in europe without goosen having anything to do with it,
since goosen is probably not licensed in europe and has no basis there to file
a claim. of course when ward got back home to cali there would be a lawsuit
and goosen would try to stake a claim on ward's european purse and how that
case went would depend on what their contract says. normally i would say a
vegas fight would bring in A LOT more than a UK fight, even if they filled wembley,
especially when the UK taxes everything above 150k at 45% and they insist on taxing
all of foreign athletes' income from sponsors and other sources even if they only participate
in one event in england all year. the thing is, ward is a cali resident and they have
12.3% state over 50k and then 39.6% federal on everything over 400k + fica,
so with the double indemnity exemption his tax situation probably wouldn't be that
different if he fought in the UK. he was ringside i think during froch-groves and said
he would like to fight in england, so it makes no sense if the fight can be made in
england or vegas not to take the fight. he's a fighter and how can not fighting be
better than fighting? his life is passing him by and he's not fighting.

fergusg wrote:

Perseus wrote:Try paying attention to what actually happens instead of your fantasy land where boxers swallow their egos and make all the best choices for their careers.
Ward has sat all this time making nothing because he can't get along with his own promoter(in a nutshell), but he's just going to roll over for Froch.
Yeah, don't hold your breath waiting for that.
You seem to follow the sport fairly close, I find it hard to believe that you would be surprised if Ward moved on without any real effort at making a rematch with Froch.

Andre Ward would have to be pretty inept to turn down a mega-bucks opportunity to fight Carl Foch, because he simply isn’t going to earn anywhere near that type of money fighting anyone else.

You’re right though, Ward’s stubbornness has literally cost him at least $20m dollars of lost earnings in the last few years, so turning down another highly lucrative opportunity to fight someone he’s already comfortably defeated would be consistent with the poor decisions he makes.

That being said, it’s an irrefutable fact that Carl Froch is one of the biggest earners in the sport today and his fight purses reflect his popularity and status in the sport. Therefore, any fighter that chooses “PRIDE” over the “PRIZE”, due to their refusal to concede to reasonable demands, has to be a complete and utter moron!

This is boxing where what happens and what makes sense usually are not the same thing.
The link that diddy posted and the quote from Ward in it is not surprising at all. Andre is not going to concede anything to Froch or anybody else.

Ward is to technical for Froch, and you seen the blueprint when they fought. Can't see any other result than a Ward decision, however Ward needs travel to cement his self as a great. Ward is scared to fight out of his comfort zone in the land of unknown.

Time for Ward to travel and get the job done.

Perseus wrote:Andre is not going to concede anything to Froch or anybody else.

And the reason? Only ego and stubbornness. Not common sense. There is no better fight out there, he should just get on the plane and earn a career high purse and forget about what Froch is making. He probably wins the fight anyway and his ego is restored again I guess. Who the hell else is he planning to fight????

Froch could never beat Ward in England, because England is not in California!

There's no way what Ward would come to England.

He'd probably vacate before having to find his passport & get a lift to LAX airport in order to board an aeroplane to go & fight in another land.

If I am wrong & Ward has finally realised that there is a world outside of California & he does opt to go to England, then it's hard to say.

Ward is now into the realms of the 'unknown' due to his inactivity & the fact that he had a serious injury not too long ago.

If Ward is remotely anything like he was when they first fought, there's no way Froch beats him: Ward was just better in all facets of boxing during that that fight.

Ricky_ wrote:

hurricanemitch14 wrote:Ggg is to busy trying fight welterweights

By welterweight you mean lineal champion in his division?

Honestly, even though ward is by far the greatest fighter in his division i have no interest in watching this dude fight. Froch wil never beat ward unless hes totally regressed.

Syntax Error wrote:Froch could never beat Ward in England, because England is not in California!

There's no way what Ward would come to England.

He'd probably vacate before having to find his passport & get a lift to LAX airport in order to board an aeroplane to go & fight in another land.

If I am wrong & Ward has finally realised that there is a world outside of California & he does opt to go to England, then it's hard to say.

Ward is now into the realms of the 'unknown' due to his inactivity & the fact that he had a serious injury not too long ago.

If Ward is remotely anything like he was when they first fought, there's no way Froch beats him: Ward was just better in all facets of boxing during that that fight.

The first fight was in Atlantic City, in New Jersey, 2,500 miles from California...