That little trick of Ward's where he follows straight after his opponent after they've broke regardless of whether he got the best of it or not. Just stays within a metre or so of them when they're trying to snatch a little breath. Must be a fucking nightmare. Bika was a good test for any fighter. Andre is real as fuck.
I know that everyone's entitled to their individual opinion. I absolutely respect that however I get so damn tired of critics complaining about Andre Ward's style of fighting. I mean really the guy just can't win. Publicly he conducts with intelligence and dignity. He won the Super 6 tournament so you can't say that he's ducking fighters. With regard to hitting and holding I see it this way. If he's in fact over clinching as some would call it then it's the responsibility of the opponent to stop/prevent him from doing so. Interestingly enough, I hear all of these criticisms but I don't hear defeated opponents adamantly calling for a rematch. I guess it's the holding and not those vicious left hooks.
Ali held against Foreman and Frazier especially when Joe was cutting the ring off. But to the "holding" complainers those we're classic fights. It's a damn tactic in boxing. You either prevent it or suffer and yes Sakio wanted a rematch against Ward but it was three years later. not immediate at all.
It's clear from watching how Ward boxed here that he was constantly working and strategizing around his torn right shoulder. From the clinch work to the very simple lead jab style with little right hand usage. Even after surgery, it is incredible how much and how long an injury like that can linger psychologically. He's a true legend for still carving out a successful career with such a big hurdle ever present.
Andre Ward Controls that man.... my opinion is that when boxing enthusiasts realize boxing is as technical as jujitsu there will be a bigger appreciation for the things Ward does.... Him, Rigo, B Hop, Julian Williams and Floyd.... Craftsmen.
I want to go on record saying that if GGG comes up to Super Middle that Andre Will beat him. He's faced other big punchers in the game and has the knowledge to disarm who ever he faces...
Ward should have points deducted for holding...ridiculous that referees let this type of rot go on. I don't understand why Bika wasn't complaining constantly to the ref. Aren't they trained to point out the obvious or doesn't their trainer have the right to speak to the ref?
Lol. Every ref is s different. But to be fair, I don’t the outcome would have been that different for Hatton. Floyd was just too skilled, and too fast. That set up check hook finisher was just one example of brilliant and savvy trap setting.
Sorry to be so off topic but does someone know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb lost the login password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me!
This is one of Ward's extremely impressive performances. Bika came with the right gameplan - rough up the boxer. Ward proves here that he can play the rough stuff too and out dirties Bika. Great stuff.
Yup. Very tough to beat the guy who has multiple paths to winning a fight. I’d much rather fight a big puncher than a brilliant technical boxer who can literally take away everything that you want to do and take 12 rounds of consistent punishment. That can be worse than a knockout.
No one can convince me that the reff didn't deliberately helped Ward in this fight separating rhe fighters whenever Ward was being handled and roughed up by his opponent . He ward was a dirty fighter but the commentators excused ward for his transgressions , that's the thing when one Country is , in this case the USA has a monopoly on a sport. They through the officials determine who becomes champion . Its this monopoly and bias officiating and comontating influenced these other boxing entities to be in existence .
"being the champion gave him the win" sounds like you know deep down that Ward didnt win that fight. I mean, I gave Ward credit for taking that dangerous fight against Bika, but the bottom line is there is no way Ward won this fight. If you really forget the biased bullsh*t commentary and just score the fight, u ll have Bika as a winner.
Tarver wants to see 2 or 3 punch combinations after Ward throws jab. Coming from a guy who waited and waited to throw one hard right against Roy Jones and others. Never a high output guy demanding others take risk and be high volume.
This was definitely one of the rougher fights of Andre Ward's career, but he took care of business cause champions find a way. He had many ways to beat an oppositon, shielding his face with the gloves and rushing in to execute counter left hooks to the body, then following up with uppercuts on the inside, he was very crafty with his game plan as you see him striving. He jabbed to the body periodically, landed right hooks when Bika least expected it; he had great precision and his speed overcame the opponent -- great fight.
Could be a case of styles make fights but wish Bika was more well-known because judging from this fight he's no slouch. Very slick and actually packs natural power, which was the edge against Ward. Ward had a very tough time handling someone like Bika and resorted to using dirty boxing and old-school clinching. I do feel bad for Bika but it's another aspect of the game that we all have to realize is actually part of the sport. For those that don't know there is an art to the clinch game and it spans years of knowledge but you could do a lot of dirty techniques too on the inside and it'd be a lie to say a fighter has never pulled off such techniques in their career to slide to a win, and for many in the sport they all know it as some kind of black arts thing. Many argue its control while others say its unfair (the clinch game I mean) because it segues into some pretty vile stuff. I say unless it's a very obvious punch to the nuts it's one aspect all fighters gotta prepare for. Even Mike tyson said if he had to fight someone LIKE Mayweather Jr. (for obvious reasons they can't fight, even if they were in the same era hahaha) he'd pull all the stops in dirty boxing to beat Mayweather. Holyfield's known to pull it, Cesar Chavez will the on-the-border body shot that is trained to hit juuuuust below the belt where the refs can't process and make the call fast enough to say it's not legal, Hopkins, the list goes on. It sucks but a lot of us casual fans don't even know it's going on with most fighters (we're talking palm, push, shit that unless you're in the ring with them, you just can't see from the outside) but trust me a ton of fighters do this and all athletes in the sport know what's up.
Yeah but every other Ward fight has been in Oakland while Froch had to go Kessler's home turf, fought Abraham in Finland, and Johnson and Ward in America. And you sound like a Ward fan boy getting offended by some British dude.
you guys fail to realise that if in a clinch and one hand is free the ref has no reason to stop it because that is true inside fighting something you dont see anymore
In retaliation for previous forearm. In the ring Ward will always retaliate. He’s vicious in the ring which contradicts his behavior and character outside the ring.
That's why I'm here, benn is one of my favourite fighters typical of him to want to face this beast. 40 v 55? You cant beat the clock, imo this fight should not be happening.
116-113 on my card. No idea what those judges were watching. The right man won, sure - but don't be fooled, it was actually a very competitive and relatively close fight overall. Bika is a little underrated and gave Ward his sternest examination since he's been on the championship scene. But credit to Ward, he's good enough to adapt. The way he upped his gear and found new level in rounds 9, 10 and 11, when he really needed it, to make sure of the win is the mark of a great fighter.
LOL yea it's just con man boxing dude. It's not that your better than a guy it's you know how to bend the rules and stall a guy out in order to get a victory.
Wtf are some of you guys watching? Bika won MAYBE two rounds, that's it. Ward won this easily. Anybody with any knowledge of boxing should be able to see this. Bika had his moments but that does not mean he won. 118-110 Ward. And I'm being generous.
Can't fight? His record and resume says otherwise. To say that he fights a certain way because he has a weak chin is stupid. The name of the game is to hit, and not get hit. Right now, he's one of the best at that.
2 black boxers, both in white trunks, both with short hair, both the same height and weight and I'm supposed to know who Andre Ward is! I was simply turning the channel and came across this with my sound off! They all look alike!!
Tarver said it best. Ward beat Bika at his own game, and I think that Bika's will to fight was taken after that. Ward dominated after the middle of the fight. Thanks for posting this. Been wanting to see this fight.
Ward has fought against all styles and found a way to win. That is the sign of a great fighter. Haters will hate no matter what. Holyfield pushed Tyson backward for the entire fight until he worn him down and eventually stopped him in their first fight. Grabbing, holding, countering, and imposing your will is the way to win. Its a chess match. Their is no one way to beat different styles.
between Floyd and Ward there's an eternity...Floyd can be dirty,clean,stilish,smart,quick,defensive, technical.Ward can only be dirty,head butter,ugly to see,defensive.Is like to compare Ali vs Morrison.One is a very good defensive boxer and is a pleasure to watch, the other is boring and dirty, he wouldn't win a fight with a good referee...without his headbutting and elbow he would be a little more than nothing.
ibhof2 bika has to ko Ward to win and USA fighters wonder why fighters don’t want to fight in USA got worse than Italy few years ago ward allowed to do ever foul going never any warning
Bika battered the shit out of Ward for the first 7 rounds and definitely won the 12th - how can you tell? He basically shut the SOG fans the fuck up. Bika got to him first, landed punches, worked the body, slipped Ward. SOG fans don't get going till round 9. And yeah, Ward is really technical as a fighter - that's why he has to fight dirty, messy and ugly as Kessler and Froch know. He's only good when fighting on 'the inside'. I think Ward won the fight but it was close - great fight from Bika and spectacular for Bika to have won round 12 after everything Ward ('the winner') threw at him.
lmao jackass - check your dumb spelling - and let's get the hermeneutics straight here, yeah? Ward countered as hard as he got - hence I'm saying he won - but he got hard - comprendo?
A lot of his dirty fighting is because he mainly had one arm to work with most of his career. I believe he stated he got a surgery done on the fight he had just before Dawson. He’s just use to mostly using his left. That’s why he does so much with mostly his left because he had no right. Anyone fighting him will get an elbow or see he fights dirty. I don’t always agree with it, but I believe most would end up fighting with a dirty style if they had Wards situation.
Ward aint knocking nobody out, GGG is. He wants 50% of the purse to fight GGG but nobody is coming to see Ward. Sounds like Ward is the one scared because GGG will knock him out too.
Your tripping. Ward is a boxer, that's his style. He is about to fighting someone who would kill GGG. He ain't scared, he is moving onto greater things
ward punished this billy goat. bika never lands anything. ward hits him with clean effective punches. bika hits ward on the back of the head, (not a legal punch) and on the fore arms. the thing i love is the role reversals in this fight. ward starts the fight struggling with bikas strength and filthy tactics, complaining 2 the ref, by the end of the fight, its as if ward turn the tables. it was ward roughing up bika ripping him with elbows, and bika is the one who starts whining 2 the ref.
Just watched Ward v Bika. It is difficult to look good against Bika who is physically bigger+ stronger than most men in the 168lb division. Ward showed he could beat him at his own game with close range punches+ had the strength+ stamina to move Bika around the ring + trap him against the ropes. Bika is a big bully, got bullied+ Ward served notice that anybody who thinks they can beat him by shoulder charging, head butting, hitting and holding, is in for a rude shock, which is what Bika got.
AW - Who’s the best fighter you have fought and why? Also, who was the best puncher and best boxer? SB - Joe Calzaghe. He could adapt to every tactic I used in the ring. He had an advantage being a southpaw too. Jaidon Codrington has been the only boxer to knock me down. Joe Calzaghe was the best boxer.
Ward has a solid build, but he always looks a weight class or two lighter than his opponents. Goes to show skills pay the bills and make winning fights look easy.
They should call Ward the killer bee because he swarms whoever he fights…they can’t get him off of them…Bika thought he’d use his head as a 3rd fist! But in that 3rd round Ward started serving him with them elbows! He let him know if he comes in head first he’ll catch a bow to the nose! Good fight!
IMO he is, and to me, is higher on the P4P list than Floyd. He has fought more often, the better competition the last 3 years and you could even argue that he already has the better resume. Ward will never have titles in 4 different weight classes because there are far fewer divisions in the higher weights. To be fair, there are 5 weight classes between 130 and 154 (130, 135, 140, 147, 154), that's a difference of 24lbs. Realistically, there are only three for Ward (168, 175, 200). That's 32lbs.
I wouldn't describe defending your title for 11 years against mandatory challengers and top contenders as "handpicking" fights. Defending your title for long periods is something most fighters don't do much any more and that is because you are constantly facing hungry, unknown quantities who are mostly younger than yourself. "Hand-picking" is what Floyd Mayweather does. Sitting in semi-retirement so he doesn't have to defend a title against people that don't offer him a good cash to risk ratio.
Just watched Ward-Bika. Ward gave Bika a taste of his own rough-housing mediceine. Bika thought he could physically bully the smooth boxing Ward, but Ward showed he is much tougher than some people think+ that he would rough up the big bully in Bika. I would have liked to see Ward stand off use his long punches a little more+ counter the wild punching Bika, but he won the fight + served notice that as well as being a skilled boxer, he can adapt to those who want to hold, hit+ head butt...
Yeh Ward's style is why he's earning a few hundred grand per fight where as Froch & Kessler are earning millions in this truly worldwide mega fight. I think if Ward fought Froch outside the US it would be allot harder for him. Ward has kind of back tracked on what he said but he did say he'd fight Froch here in the UK (assuming Froch beats Kessler ofc) in another mega fight. It will be tempting for Ward due to the money that would be involved. This is what Froch brings - entertainment...money
you're talking about the last 5 years, mayweather has been doing this since for 17-18 years. all his biggest fights were won by domination, like diego coralles in the top 3 p4p when he fought mayweather. genaro hernandez, zab judah, ndou and the list goes on and on. he crosses over through 2 generations, hes been around since tyson was fighting.. margarito would have been floyds easiest victory, he still fought cotto under cottos terms, and pacquiao fight was unfortunate for not happening
Love Andre and he isnt a brutal fighter its almost like a teaching session in there I'd love to spar with a fighter like that for a few weeks. getting my ass whooped by him would give me pride. he doesnt focus on hurting the other fighter just focuses on winning. a lot to be learned from that
God what a horrendous fight...SOG is only fun against pressure fighters, and Sakio Bika is about the dirtiest most awkward boxer in the game today. I could honestly see him taking Golovkin to a decision just because clean offense does not take place during Bika fights(wide ass scores make no mistake)
Ward=master technician who utilizes every advantage he can find illegal or otherwise, Bika=so awkward he makes Sam soliman look like sweet pea. Gtfo Australian
Lol I won't disagree that ward has had more than a few fights in which he should have had points taken at least but your giving Bika maaaddd unwarranted credit
Idk man I don't necessarily disagree with what you've seen, perhaps how it should be dealt with. But your nuts if you haven't seen Bika do that stuff literally every damn time he fights
You can't 'pay back' a fight that should've happened. I give him credit for fighting Canelo, it's a risky, tough fight, but you can't help to get the sense that Canelo might be too young and inexperienced. Look, I respect Floyd a lot. He's one of the hardest workers in all sports, and is great for boxing. I freakin' hope he becomes a trainer and a promoter, that would be awesome. But although he's top 10 all-time in talent, his resume isn't very impressive, such as a Leonard's or a Hopkins' is.
I had Marquez clearly winning the 3rd Pac fight also. But I also had Cotto winning the fight against Mayweather by 2 rounds. lets not forget Cotto was the champ. funny thing is a friend of mine scored it for Mayweather,I asked him to re-watch certain rounds without audio and he was surprised how he suddenly had Cotto winning those rounds. cause watching it live with HBO commentary he scored it for Mayweather. just tells me how BS the commentary is. HBO would never give Cotto that decision
Tarver correct. Bika got him looking for the ref and that’s not his game. That’s what he does to everyone else. More lateral movement to his right would have been better. Clip him on left side of head where Bika keeps his left low. That’s what Bika was trying to do to him on the inside. Ward shoulda covered his left ear with left hand and rotate with counter right hooks instead of looking for the overhook with his right arm. Bika was one tough mofo tho. Not graceful at all but tough as nails
