A truly stunning year of boxing continues this weekend in Las Vegas with the rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev taking centre stage at the Mandalay Bay. The pair met in one of the most anticipated fights of last year with Ward taking a controversial unanimous decision, and with it the mantle of undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion.
Andre Ward goes into his 32nd fight with an unbeaten record and widely considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but unlike many of his contemporaries at the top of the sport, he is far from loved.
Whilst fellow pound-for pound kings like Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are house hold names around the world, Ward continues to struggle for the same adulation outside of boxing circles. The 33YO from California certainly belongs at the top of the sport when you take a look at his record with world titles to his name at both Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight but he is a man who is admired, rather than loved.
When it comes to boxing skills, few can match Andre Ward.
An Olympic Gold Medallist in 2004, Ward has proven just as effective in the pro ranks with his record a perfect one heading into the Kovalev rematch. There is certainly no arguing with his talent with his fast hands, and defensive skills in particular, second to none. Top level world champions like Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Chad Dawson and Arhur Abraham have not only been beaten by Ward, they have hardly been able to lay a glove on him.
His defensive, counter punching style is very easy on the eye for the purists, and that has been enough for many top experts to name him at the top of their pound-for-pound lists.
The problem for Ward when it comes to the lack of love from the wider sporting community is that he's almost too good.
The majority of the Andre Ward fights over the past five years have been one sided unanimous decision wins with his defensive style leading to less than entertaining fights. British fans will remember Carl Froch unable to get near Ward for 12 rounds when they fought during the Super Six tournament and unfortunately it doesn't lead to entertainment, which is the business we are in.
Conversely, we all remember the two wars between Froch and Mikkel Kessler with both men going toe-to-toe in a couple of legendary contests. Ward beat both of those excellent champions with great ease but he is far less loved than both, and the popularity of those three fighters is a microcosm of how boxing works.
The fighters that have the biggest following are the fighters that get fans out of their seats and Ward is unable to do that. As well as having a back foot style, Ward lacks that KO power that attracts big pay-per-view numbers with less than half of his 31 wins coming by way of KO. In fact only four of his last 14 fights have avoided going to the score cards, and we know this weekend that he can only beat Kovalev by decision.
Ward came back from a knock down to win the first fight with Sergey Kovalev but many felt the Russian had been hard done by, and both men come into this re-match with rather large chips on their shoulder. Ward is craving the respect he feels he hasn't been given, and Kovalev is looking for revenge after the controversial ending to the first bout.
The American is expected to win the re-match this weekend but don't expect fireworks from the Olympic Champion. If he is to win, he will have to do it on points and even though he can cement his place at the head of many pound-for-pound lists with a convincing win, don't expect the man from San Francisco to garner the love he so clearly craves.
