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Marlon H. (Reseda, CA): As long as I can remember you have touted Andre Ward as “the best fundamental boxer in the sport behind Mayweather”, but after seeing him again last weekend, I don’t think I see what you and others find so special. What do you find so special about him that we don’t see in Bradley and some of the other up and coming fighters?
Vivek W. (ESB): Unfortunately, most around the sport are just really starting to pay attention to Ward, but for me, this recent effort was part of a trail of victories and performances that go back years. The sole purpose of any field of competition is to identify the last man standing, whom is presumably the best of the rest. In Andre Ward, I’ve witnessed a developing talent over the years whom on every level has found a way to elevate his game and find victory. The kid hasn’t lost since ’97, when he was a whopping 12 years old.
Box, brawl, inside, outside; whatever the action dictates, he’s found a way to win within the given conditions and there’s no way to effectively discredit an effort that grand. Trouble is, we live in a cosmetic era of the sport where there’s a deliberate affinity to the fan fave hit-and-be-hit style.. Unfortunately, few fight fans who marvel that element have stopped to realize it’s not the only way to win. Fighters fight….boxers box! This is what separates the Mayweathers of the world from the Pacquiao’s of the world. This isn’t to say that one is better than the other; it’s to say one style is more fan friendly, while the other is just as effective, yet not as fan friendly.
Ward is a fundamental boxer that will also bang with a banger if the situation dictates the need, which separates him from a sound fundamentalist like Mayweather whom, in his rise in weight class went to a more defensive position, simply using footwork and potshots to seal the deal on the scorecards. That’s what I view to be the major element of greatness in Ward. People will say that Ward is boring, but I think the truth here is that to those who appreciate execution of the sweet science, he’s far from, and at the end of the day, the real reason people find his ability to be boring is because it usually means absolute domination.
I always tell the story of my intense love for Michael Jordan as a kid, and remind many that despite the way I marveled his abilities at that time, the first time I actually had a chance to go see him live resulted in me leaving the arena shortly after halftime because he had already scored nearly 40 points and his team was up by nearly 25 points. There was simply nothing left to watch.
So, lets not get it twisted…..this isn’t about Ward or anyone else being boring. Pacquiao is the best offensive spectacle in the sport and it didn’t help him one iota in the ring against the likes of Joshua Clottey as many witnessed several fans walk out of the stadium through the last quarter of the fight resulting from the same “absolute domination”. Absolute domination is absolute domination, and when a man can separate himself from a competitor by being that good, it simply makes for an uneventful evening that just feels bad!
Jerril N. (Long Island, NYC): I saw your comments on your facebook page about the Pacquaio/Mosley fight and you seemed to have changed your opinion. Initially, you were critical of Mosley, and now it seems you have more to say about Pacquiao. What changed between the night of the fight and now to make you critical of his performance?
Vivek W. (ESB): I’m not quite sure where the interpretation of my opinion “changing” came from, but for the record, what I feel now is no different from what I felt the night of the fight live in Las Vegas. If anything, seeing the fight again from the television angle as opposed to my seat in the media area gave me a little more to add to my thoughts….but there was no true “change”.
The only thing that I can say after watching it on television is that, to reiterate my initial position, Mosley looked very old and out of sorts, and in my best estimation, Pacquiao’s performance left room for a few questions in the sense that he failed to do things that once seemed to come quite natural for him.
The sport of boxing hasn’t seen an offensive presence this monstrous since an early “Iron” Mike Tyson; but along with that accolade comes the realization that it’s impossible to comprehend an occasion where a presence this destructive would fail to trap and terminate what appeared to be a set of very shaky 39 year old legs. Going into the fight I was of the impression that Mosley had more in the tank than many felt, but it was clear he really was a ‘shot’ fighter, and after the knockdown, he didn’t even really put up an effort. Why our sports most dominant and destructive offensive force failed to pull the curtains on him is a mystery to me.
Mayweather isn’t viewed as half the offensive presence Pacquiao is, but I think I’d have to tip my hat to his effort against Mosley more so than Pacquiao’s, for the simple fact that he not only did it in a way most felt he couldn’t, but he also took advantage of every opening present, and rarely missed. Pacquiao missed quite often, sometimes swinging wildly in the process, and I’ve never quite seen such a misguided effort from him; everything from the missed punches to the very limited punch output (by his standards) of 552 punches thrown. Just seemed to be an off night.
With Mosley and all other legends it starts as “one off night”. For the first time I walked away from a Pacquiao fight asking myself “has the countless amount of wars and the rise and fall in weights over nearly 60 battles finally began to take it’s toll on a man I viewed as absolutely indestructible”? I’ll be patiently watching to find out. Marquez is 39, was humbled by Mayweather at the same weight range he’s expected to face Pacquiao in, and has looked good, but not his stellar self as of late. If it’s close and there’s remnants of more slippage, I think the verdict will be in. Stay tuned.
Kerri G. (Chicago, IL): Who are some of the fighters that you would like to see Andre Ward face in the future and where would you place him on your P4P list?
Vivek W. (ESB): Many who have followed my work over the years know my logic surrounding the P4P topic isn’t the industry standard, but nonetheless parallels the text book definition as initially stated in the sport. To elaborate, I equate P4P greatness primarily to fundamental skill level, not star power and/or the ability to put cheeks-in-seats. That being said, Andre Ward was #2 on my list well prior to the Super 6 Tournament. He and Floyd Mayweather remain the only two men in the sport whose level of dominance has spanned well over a decade and counting.
In the case of Floyd Mayweather jr., you have a man who has been undefeated professionally since October of 1996; and in the case of Andre Ward, you have a man who has been undefeated through the amateur ranks dating as far back as 1997 (when he was a mere 12 years old). Thinking about the man this term was originally coined for, (Sugar Ray Robinson), the fact that these men have consistently found a way to win at all ethical cost has to be commended. It’s both rare and unparalleled.
That being said, I don’t knock anyone who chooses to use the modern day definition of P4P, implementing star power and excitability. Funny thing is that for those who feel a need to attempt to combine some hybrid type of list mixing the fundamental definition and that typically found in the sport today, after Saturday nights performance, I think clearly, he would be a part of such a list as well, joining the ranks of the Donaire’s, Bradley’s, and Khan’s of the world. So, no matter what definition one has for the mythical P4P landscape, Ward has found a way to crack it, and he’ll continue to rise to the top, (in my estimation).
Regarding fighters I’d like to see him face……First and foremost, Sergio Martinez. I think this fight could be made at 160lbs or somewhere in between easily, and it would settle the score between the mythical #2 P4P fighter (Martinez) and the literal #2 P4P fighter (Ward). Others would include Lucian Bute, the Carl Froch/Glen Johnson winner (either would be a great fight), and perhaps even the Hopkins/Pascal winner.
Ron V. (Miami Lakes, FL): I think you’ve tried to be objective with Pacquiao and the possibility of him using performance enhancements but before there was no smoking gun. What are your thoughts on this new allegation that Pacquiao was “injected” steroids by a former sparring partner?
Vivek W. (ESB): This is a complete non-story in my book. Despite playing a role in the sport, unfortunately I don’t read anything aside from breaking news and interviews, so the only reason I entertained this garbage was because I had no idea if the writer was an actual writer in the sport or not. Once it was confirmed it was in fact a ghost-writer, I never looked back and would advise you and those reading not too as well. One thing I will say that was awfully interesting, however, is the fact that if I could see this was a gimmick, why couldn’t Team Pacquiao who found a need to release a statement to address it?
That was very interesting to me that they even gave this matter the slightest attention. But hey, what started as a whisper has apparently grown to a chant…..and when you refuse to do a certain style of testing, I guess it’s easy for this kind of drama to gain traction. I think it’s sad all the way around, as it leaves room for a stellar legacy to become a tainted one. Not a good thing……
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), and Facebook).