BoxRec

He will never fight Kovalev:

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/4038 ... andre-ward

Why not a “Let’s get in!” mindset for a Kovalev-Ward clash?

“That’s easy to say for people who aren’t getting hit,” Ward answered the ESPN-er. “That’s very easy to say but my question is: ‘What’s the rush?'”

Hmm, OK…I guess I’d counter by saying careers aren’t infinite – you are 32 in February and 38 in boxing years and Sergey is 31, now in his prime…It’s prime versus prime; it’s a match-up execs and fans want…Why not now?

“Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, they didn’t didn’t fight when everybody wanted them to fight,” Ward pointed out…

A true fighting champion!

Just wait and see, his next fight is going to be against a good opponent...his next fight...

I was pretty disappointed in that answer as well...

Though, he did pivot to the point that the fight needs to be hyped. In the end, if they wait a bit, it won't cost them money and it will probably end up making them money, as long as they don't lose in the meantime....

Yeah. "Big fight!" But, what sort of purses are involved on Andre side? It is a value $20,000,000.00 to him (May makes WHAT against Manny? 128 m?). Worth more actually. Both are "hugh".
If it were any less than 20,000,000.00 I don't know why Ward would look at it. He WANTS, yes.. but..
And I'd like to point out, the Super Six got Andre "nice (small) money"....only "really small!"

I hope caldo comes on and destroys Ward for these comments otherwise he's a massive hypocrite.

Ward is a Punk.

Ward is right leave the man alone

Ward should at least earn $15,000,000.00 purse for the fight why would he fight Kovalev for a mere 2million dollars? You

guys crack me up wanting Andre to fight that monster 1-2million for your own sick perverse for violence.

ImranSarwar wrote:Yeah. "Big fight!" But, what sort of purses are involved on Andre side? It is a value $20,000,000.00 to him (May makes WHAT against Manny? 128 m?). Worth more actually. Both are "hugh".
If it were any less than 20,000,000.00 I don't know why Ward would look at it. He WANTS, yes.. but..
And I'd like to point out, the Super Six got Andre "nice (small) money"....only "really small!"

How in the hell does Ward deserve $20m for a fight? Nobody wants to watch him because his fights are boring, he had to fight on BET because no other station wanted him.

... and here is Duva's take:

http://www.BS.com/kovalevs-pro ... nts--98080?

confirming that Ward could just get "injured" or retire to avoid fulfilling the contract.

ikorolev wrote:He will never fight Kovalev:

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/4038 ... andre-ward

Why not a “Let’s get in!” mindset for a Kovalev-Ward clash?

“That’s easy to say for people who aren’t getting hit,” Ward answered the ESPN-er. “That’s very easy to say but my question is: ‘What’s the rush?'”

Hmm, OK…I guess I’d counter by saying careers aren’t infinite – you are 32 in February and 38 in boxing years and Sergey is 31, now in his prime…It’s prime versus prime; it’s a match-up execs and fans want…Why not now?

“Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, they didn’t didn’t fight when everybody wanted them to fight,” Ward pointed out…

he really said these things? well, at least he is honest
and in reality he is not relevant in boxing right now
anyways. he lost his potential to be the one.

ikorolev wrote:... you are 32 in February and 38 in boxing years and Sergey is 31, now in his prime.

ward is "38 in boxing years"? why? because
of the many slug fests he was involved in?
the toe to toe battles a la gatti-ward?

Ward comes across as a really nice guy out of the ring. His style just doesn't make for great fights. He needs t be in with guys to push him. Win or lose he'll make more money that way.

You know, i listen to Andre Ward ringside analyzing fights for HBO and think that no one does a better job. He's intelligent, articulate and informative like no other boxer turned analyst before him. He gets it and he brings first hand experience inside the ring that a Lampley or Max or Bernstein can't bring on fight night.

Then I see Andre Ward the boxer and can't figure out why he can't utilize that same gift about his own career and place in boxing. Ward had that second spot behind Floyd sewn up. Couldn't he see what he had coming in the horizon when Floyd retired? He blew it and now he's become one of the biggest jokes in boxing. And you've got these P4P rankings fueling the fire by still including him even though he hasn't fought in 3 years (i don't count that last BET fight as a fight). You've got the wretched WBA letting this idiot hijack the belt for 3 years without defending it and not stripping him. Why is Andre Ward the anointed one? The chosen one. It's pathetic. He's now Floyd without having to proving it in the ring.

On the brighter side, I think Ward forfeiting the WBA title yesterday increases the odds of a Kovalev/Ward 2016 super fight. If i'm Ward, i'm not going to let the fight with Kovalev be my second fight at the weight. I'm having one more fight at the weight or possibly two more just to get acclimated to the weight before taking on Kovalev's incredible power. But Kovalev keeps getting better every fight so waiting him out is not the smartest move by Ward in my opinion. Get him while he's green is what i'd say.

If the fight doesn't happen in late 2016 then it means that Ward either retired or faked an injury as signatures have been done on the paperwork If Ward proceeds and fight Kovalev then i will take back all of my criticism of Ward. If he finds a way to avoid him then i'm done with this idiot. Let him fight on BET for the rest of his pathetic career.

man wrote:

ikorolev wrote:... you are 32 in February and 38 in boxing years and Sergey is 31, now in his prime.

ward is "38 in boxing years"? why? because
of the many slug fests he was involved in?
the toe to toe battles a la gatti-ward?

Those were not my words, but with Ward's constant injuries and unwillingness to fight, 38 seems to be a right estimate to me.

Ward does sound a little unsure of himself but it could be that he is willing to wait to play the numbers game hoping for a demand to spark the PPV numbers.

Undefeated49-0 wrote:Ward does sound a little unsure of himself but it could be that he is willing to wait to play the numbers game hoping for a demand to spark the PPV numbers.

Casual fans don't remember who he is and fighting on BET doesn't help that. Only a fight on HBO against a decent opponent can refresh people's memory and boost ppv numbers.

ikorolev wrote:

Undefeated49-0 wrote:Ward does sound a little unsure of himself but it could be that he is willing to wait to play the numbers game hoping for a demand to spark the PPV numbers.

Casual fans don't remember who he is and fighting on BET doesn't help that. Only a fight on HBO against a decent opponent can refresh people's memory and boost ppv numbers.

You have no argument with me there which is why I said he sound a little unsure of himself, he did kind of allude to what I stated using his analogy of Manny vs Floyd taking 5 years but I think he would've been better off using how long it took Roy to quit ducking BHop for 10 years as a better example.

Andre Ward only has a net worth of $2m according to the information online. What is this guy doing with his career? He should have at least $30-40m at this point but he's absolutely blown it. Talk about a horrible business model.

This is why I kinda think the knee is legit.

But, Ward has to own some of it.

Inactivity will do that, make things more prone to injury.

And yeah, he had contract disputes and the shoulder, but does anyone doubt he could have mixed in at least 2 more fights to stay sharp?

So now he has to say stuff like this less than a year away from a showdown with Sergei, per the contract he signed.

He has to do 3 fights next year if the Koralev fight is to be the last and is scheduled for late 2016.

My guess is he fights Sergei on PPV spring of 2017.

ward is delusional, i for one have little to no interest in watching him fight and never have, even the kovalov fight doesnt interest me, kovalov has power and thats it, ward on points in a boring fight if it happens, ward has had plenty of chances to show case his talents against top boxers, but sadly creating a lasting legacy is of no interest to ward he just wants to make the most money with the least risk, thats his porogative i suppose but while he is doing it his own way he is losing the publics interest and when i say public i mean Oakland as dont think many outside of there even know who he is.

Ward vacated at super middle because there's nothing to prove there. He's moving up a division to fight bigger men. Such a coward.

DeGale has called him out many times but instead he fought the 5th best British SMW. If he didn't have anything to prove why didn't he move up 3 years ago? Instead he fought the LHW champion at 168 then fought Rodriguez, he said he wanted to wait for his body to grow into the division even though he boxed at 175 when he was 19, what a joke.

Only worth $2m NET haha I have more then that in my bank account.

diddy wrote:Ward vacated at super middle because there's nothing to prove there. He's moving up a division to fight bigger men. Such a coward.

Bigger men not better men

diddy wrote:Ward vacated at super middle because there's nothing to prove there. He's moving up a division to fight bigger men. Such a coward.

He is the same size as those "bigger" men. He was fighting at LHW when older Kovalev was still a MW.

ward is a man whose time has passed.

man wrote:ward is a man whose time has passed.

I think Ward marches to a different tune, he looked very good against (the overmatched) Smith and he seems a very intelligent man. If he gets in with Kovalev he'll not just be turning up, he'll have a plan to win. I read somewhere that he's not in love with the sport and sees it as a way to gain an audience for his religious beliefs, he does trust that God has got a plan for him so takes thing in his stride more than most would.