Andre Ward Signed By Roc Nation

[Seano]

Sure.. who was that bum white guy on the subway commercials that was all over tv before he even had 5 fights?
They should have done that with Ward... get him on tv.. They should have had him taking advantage of his medal.. they should have had him in deeper earlier....

there was a lot of opportunity to make him a house hold name right out of the gate... they did not capitalize on it...Now that said, he is not the most exciting fighter.. so there's that.. but neither was Reid.. the way to make up for that lack of excitement is to put them in deep and show how good they are...

Also, an Olympic medal doesn't really mean that much anymore. Olympic medals haven't meant shit since the cold war ended.

 

[burningspear]

Great move for Ward.

 

[Seano]

The benefit of Roc Nation is that they havent made any enemies yet.. so they wont have as many barriers as Golden boy and top rank... Who knows how good they will be.. but Floyd catered to the r&b crowd and that brought some excitement to his career.. maybe itll do the same for Ward...

I could see a few fights making some good money.. Chavez Jr. vs. Ward would sell.. it would be a one sided beating, but it would sell... It would be like Gatti vs. Mayweather.. where the brawler brings the fans and the boxers brings the assbeatin...
and I think once the money is right, he will be more likely to take the risk of moving up.

That also means they have 0 pull against other promoters.

I don't think Ward is going to find himself in a better position.

Chavez Jr is negotiating with Froch right now. (never mind that Ward called out Junior a while back, then criticized Froch for calling out Chavez claiming Froch was looking for an easy win. Self promotion is not something Ward excels at.)

Talent and wins aren't enough to make the fans watch. Pernell Whitaker was never really a superstar. Ward never will be either.

 

[PUO3]

I honestly don't know. I know he was offered fights. Goosen made that claim and Ward never disputed it. He just thought he was worth more.

Rocnation won't be able to do anything more with him. There's no big name opponents for him. There's no SMW thats going to get him the millions he wants and he's shown reluctance to fight at 175 and even then, there's not much there.

He hasnt been offered anything.

Thats why theres never been any headline of Ward declining a fight.

 

[Cracky]

Ward was in some of the most high profile fights of this decade and was televised fighting tomato cans well before that. Ward simply didn't excite the fans, thats not his promoters fault. Goosen got him fights with every big name in his division and the lineal LHW champ too.

Having an Olympic pedigree doesn't guarantee stardom either. Leonard wasn't a star because he was an Olympian. Oscar wasn't a star because he was an Olympian. You mentioned David Reid, Reid was no star.

Beating top competition helps. Having the personality of a pinky toe does not. Having a boring style doesn't help either.

Fans aren't going to like Ward more because he has a new promoter.This wasn't a Rigondeaux situation where his promoter refused to promote him.

Leonard was a star from day one.. because of his olympic pedigree.. so was Oscar...Where do you think the nickname came from? Also, Reid was a star.. He got to the pinacle of one of the hottest divisions in boxing in 14 fights.. He had a lot of star power..


Ill agree that personality is important... you are right there.. but that is really all perception too.. the promoter can help with that.. Arum tried to make Mayweather the next Ray Leonard... confidence + flashiness + million dollar smile and personable nature.... but that didn't work for Floyd because he really isn't a lot of those things...the thing that worked for him was to be the villian.. and he is a master of that... but even he has said that it's all for show... the flashiness.. all that.. You see Floyd training, he's rocking ugly hats and t shirts that look like they were designed by a 3rd grader and he doesn't care ... I think that's the real May...he's just a grinder/hard worker.. but he understands that people arent interested in that... so he gives them something else.. I think Ward needs to get with his promoter and do the same...

I mean, they both have the same boring hold and use the ref style that bores the fans... but if you inject some personality or a reason to root for or against you into the equation, the fights, as boring as they can be, become more interesting.

 

[Cracky]

That also means they have 0 pull against other promoters.

I don't think Ward is going to find himself in a better position.

Chavez Jr is negotiating with Froch right now. (never mind that Ward called out Junior a while back, then criticized Froch for calling out Chavez claiming Froch was looking for an easy win. Self promotion is not something Ward excels at.)

Talent and wins aren't enough to make the fans watch. Pernell Whitaker was never really a superstar. Ward never will be either.

Meh.. worked for Floyd... Called out Pac for Cotto.. then fought Cotto...

I think Ward being a commentator is helping him quite a bit though... People just recently stacked up behind COrmier because he was personable and had a platform.. Ward commentating will be a good thing for the same reasons.. I think he'll make some progress if he keeps winning...I have no faith in Roc Nation, but they can't do any worse is all I was saying.. Ward will at least fight for them.. so that alone is progress

 

[ironfist05]

what happened to the supposed rematch with Kessler? Not that I wanted to see the fight, but wasn't that the word on the street for a while?

Ward will probably be uncooperative with anybody. If I remember correctly, he refused to fight Bute when Bute was relevant because of money and I haven't seen him make any moves towards guys like Kovalev, GGG, Froch, or Stevenson other than lame call outs. Not that I think he's scared, but he thinks he's a WAY bigger draw than he actually is.

 

[Cracky]

Ward already made it known that he wants GGG... GGG doesn't wanna move up yet though

 

[ironfist05]

actually, off topic, but would anybody be down to see Bute vs Kessler? Would be a good way to give both guys a last shot and at least one of them a way to ride off into the sunset. Not really relevant at this point, but could be fun. Plus, I hear some are considering Bute for Kovalev, which just seems unhumane at this point.

 

[Seano]

He hasnt been offered anything.

Thats why theres never been any headline of Ward declining a fight.

He spent the last few years suing his promoter who had an iron clad, 100% legal contract.

Ward chose not to fight. Simple as that.

 

[Seano]

Ward already made it known that he wants GGG... GGG doesn't wanna move up yet though

Why should he go up to fight Ward when he's already a bigger name and has more potential big name opponents?

Lots of names at 175 , maybe he should move up.

 

[Seano]

He hasnt been offered anything.

Thats why theres never been any headline of Ward declining a fight.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/10863999/arbitrator-upholds-promoter-deal-andre-ward
Link to the most recent story I could find of how Ward screwed himself over.

In April 2011, Ward signed a three-year contract extension with Goossen, for which he received a $550,000 signing bonus, according to the ruling obtained by ESPN.com. But both sides agreed during the June 2013 arbitration that the agreement did not go into effect until Sept. 8, 2012, the day that Ward knocked out Chad Dawson. Before the Dawson fight, Ward had been sidelined for nine months because of an injury.

In December, Goossen asked the commission to arbitrate a second dispute over the length of the agreement. He argued that Ward should be under contract for 16 more months due to time missed for injuries as well as Ward's reluctance to allow him to set up his next fight. Ward's side said it didn't recognize the commission's authority, but said any extension should be for no more than six months. The promotional agreement between Ward and Goossen gives the commission the authority to decide any issues in arbitration, according to the ruling.

Ward took a half a million dollars after signing the extension and then decided it wasn't fair and sued his promoter. It has been ruled a couple of times that the contract was legal and legit. = Ward choosing not to fight.

 

[Cracky]

Why should he go up to fight Ward when he's already a bigger name and has more potential big name opponents?

Lots of names at 175 , maybe he should move up.

I didn't say anybody should do anything.. I just responded to somebody saying Ward hasn't shown interest in facing GGG.. he did

 

[XThe GreatestX]

Ward was in some of the most high profile fights of this decade and was televised fighting tomato cans well before that. Ward simply didn't excite the fans, thats not his promoters fault. Goosen got him fights with every big name in his division and the lineal LHW champ too.

Having an Olympic pedigree doesn't guarantee stardom either. Leonard wasn't a star because he was an Olympian. Oscar wasn't a star because he was an Olympian. You mentioned David Reid, Reid was no star.

Beating top competition helps. Having the personality of a pinky toe does not. Having a boring style doesn't help either.

Fans aren't going to like Ward more because he has a new promoter.This wasn't a Rigondeaux situation where his promoter refused to promote him.

huh? SRL and Oscar became stars because of the olympics. shit they gave ray 40k for his first pro fight because of his success at the olympics

 

[Seano]

huh? SRL and Oscar became stars because of the olympics. shit they gave ray 40k for his first pro fight because of his success at the olympics

No they didn't. They became stars because of their perceived personalities, looks and fighting styles combined with the fact that they had network TV pushing them, especially Leonard. Theres a reason people paid attention to them before they even turned pro.


Why didn't Whitaker become a star like that? Or Michael Spinks? Because they didn't have the appeal. Ward doesn't have appeal either. He's not fun to watch, he has no personality.


But even if- Winning a medal at the Olympics just doesn't mean as much as it did 30 or 40 years ago.

 

[Cracky]

Seano, you are partially right...But were not wrong.. The gold medal provides the innitial interest... Antonio Tarver was once said that he went from have multimillion dollar competition to promote him to fighting for pennies with one loss... Jirov in the Olympics.. All that money is there for gold because it's marketable.. it still has to be marketed in the right way though.

 

[nvs1985]

Ward is without a doubt in the top 3 fighters pfp in the world... he deserves to get paid as such... He's the one taking all the health risks.. not his promoter.. his promoter is just leaching off of him... Had the Goosen's come to him with offers that reflect his market value, things could have gone better..

Now that said, no fighter should ever sign a huge fight deal.. I think fighters should sign 3-4 fights at a time... that way, if they have these disagreements, 3 fights and your out... but when your trapped in a long term deal that doesn't pay you right.. the only two options are to take the risk of fighting at the low pay.. and possibly losing that marketability and earning potential along the way... or make yourself and your promoter no money at all... until it becomes more costly to keep you than its worth...
Bottom line, they should have paid him right... he would have fought for em..

You are getting paid by how much you can make money in return. Ward does not generate too much money.

GGG, Froch and Chavez Jr, none of them need Ward for anything. All of them sell more tickets than Ward, even in Oakland.

I agree with Seano, Ward can only blame himself.

 

[farfan]

i also agree with seano here .

i also remember the ridiculous claim from ward that he SHOULD be allowed to have a second promoter while under contract with goossen tutor . how silly is that ? that's like suing the UFC for not letting you fight in bellator .

 

[Cracky]

You are getting paid by how much you can make money in return. Ward does not generate too much money.

GGG, Froch and Chavez Jr, none of them need Ward for anything. All of them sell more tickets than Ward, even in Oakland.

I agree with Seano, Ward can only blame himself.

I agree with that in general.. and if Ward is getting offers based on his market value ( a percentage of the take) and turning fights down, then it's all him.. but I don't think thats the case... I don't think Ward is dumb. I think he is getting offered one thing.. other promoters are telling him what they could get him.. and he is expecting the Goosen's to meet that max value

 

[SuwoopBangin]

i also remember the ridiculous claim from ward that he SHOULD be allowed to have a second promoter while under contract with goossen tutor . how silly is that ? that's like suing the UFC for not letting you fight in bellator .

i don't remember hearing about this, what the hell. andre needs a serious reality check.