By Jaime Ortega: Floyd Mayweather and Many Pacquiao are rated pound for pound the two most prolific boxers of this generation; Wladimir Klitschko is the third best fighter to have laced a pair of gloves this decade due to the lack of competition on the heavy weight division. Both the American and the Filipino have beat and fought many world champions using two different styles; Pacquiao is active and can still beat world champions to surpass Mayweather’s legacy – two wins against undefeated opponents like Crawford, Keith Thurman or Errol Spence Jr. would set him largely ahead.
Andre Ward was rated the second best pound for pound boxer before Mayweather retired. He came back from a two year layoff where he encountered physical injuries and promotional issues that halted his stellar boxing career.
Ward just beat Sergey Kovalev on a controversial unanimous decision and might be able to surpass the legacy of Mayweather and Pacquiao – there are good few reasons why it’s possible.
Ward moved up in weight to defeat Krusher, and despite the controversial victory, he now holds three belts; the WBO, IBF and WBA light heavyweight championship — all on his possession right now. In order to surpass Pacquiao and Mayweather he needs to walk a heroic path to achieve legendary status.
First, he needs to rematch Kovalev. He needs to fight the Russian again and dominate. Ward can’t have a close fight night again because the judges will grant Kovalev the win —especially, if it’s a close fight. The task to beat Kovalev in a rematch still remains a 50/50 chance, but if he beats the Russian, he just opened himself up to glory. Ward might end with a trilogy series with Kovalev, if Kovalev beats him; all great legends had trilogy series, unless the fight was noncompetitive. Whatever it may be, the next time around Ward needs to beat Kovalev in great fashion and impress the judges.
Second, Ward faces Adonis Stevenson. Stevenson holds the WBC and lineal heavyweight titles since 2013. He was reluctant to fight Kovalev – who branded Stevenson as Adonis “Chickenson” for more than two years for ducking him. Stevenson knows Ward won’t knock him out —and after watching Ward’s performance against Kovalev – knows he has a serious chance of beating the undefeated American boxer and snatch his belts. Stevenson has a quick nasty left, with a lot of power that can hurt Ward bad. If Ward beats Stevenson and is able to neutralize his speed, he will unify all belts. Stevenson versus Ward presents a 50/50 chance fight. If Ward beats Stevenson, he is one step behind to surpass Mayweather and Pacquiao’s legacy.
Third, Ward will have to defend his belts from the biggest challenger at 175lbs. Artur Beterbiev is a serious threat to any champion on the light heavyweight division and has all it takes to dominate the division. A lot of people speculate that he ducked Sullivan Barrera, but fail to recognize that Beterbiev had a shoulder injury that kept him out for over a year. The same people who state that he ducked Barrera, are the same people who publically stated that Keith Thurman faked an injury to duck Shawn Porter – an absolute lie. Beterbiev called the winner of Kovalev versus Ward showing he wants a title shot. Ward will have to out-skill Beterbiev to win – the Russian has a superb rocky inside game and he is a true boxing technician. Beterbiev has the upper hand on this fight — if he catches Ward clean a couple times — it would be lights out. But let’s supposedly imply that Ward beats Beterbiev via decision — Ward has just tied Pacquiao and Mayweather’s legacy status.
Fourth, he beats Vyaschelav Shabranskyy. Not a lot of people know the Ukrainian prodigy, but he is surely a beast with relentless stamina who can box in the inside and the outside. Sullivan Barrera will be fighting him next on December – expect high a tempo bout — the Ukranian should deliver. If Ward remains inside the light heavyweight division, he will eventually face Shabranskyy. It would be a tough fight for Ward, but I believe he has an edge on this fight. If he beats Shabransnkyy he will beat a young hungry lion.
Fifth, Ward beats Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Issac Chilemba fought Gvozdyk on the undercard of Kovalev versus Ward and ended with a hand injury. Gvozdyk looked impressive and he out maneuvered the stylistically unpredictable African with good shots. If Ward remains in the light heavyweight division — just like Shabrankskyy– he will eventually encounter Gvozdyk by somewhat on 2018. Gvozdyk has a nasty right jab, and he packs left uppercuts and hooks with a lot of power; he also moves his head pretty well and his defense is solid – hard to catch on counters and highly technical. Ward will face the Ukrainian sooner or later. Tough fight, but Ward will have experience on his side to perhaps neutralize the power and speed of the young Ukrainian lion – yet, it will be a tough challenge. If Ward beats Gvozdyk or Shabrankyy in the near future, he will be ahead of Mayweather and Pacquiao in terms of legacy. Those two fights present hardball technical tests.
Six, Ward fights his arch-nemesis Gennady Golovkin. The fight never materialized between the two superstars— and frankly, as an impartial viewer of the situation — I truly believe Abel Sanchez’s team ducked Ward all along. Ward cannot be ducking GGG, and suddenly move to a higher weight class full of sharks – that makes no sense whatsoever; however, the fight between the two could still be possible on legacy terms. GGG’s legacy is stuck at Middleweight and despite his dominance, he hasn’t fought anyone with a big name. I also believe that Saul Canelo’s Golden Boy team has ducked GGG akin Danny Jacobs, and GGG’s team has ducked Erislandy Lara – who repeatedly has called him out. I believe GGG beats Canelo, Lara and Jacobs handily; yet, by the time GGG faces Ward, Ward would have already become a tougher cookie to beat with way more experience than he ever obtained at 168lbs – 175lbs division is a tough-tough division to survive undefeated. I believe Ward, would beat GGG based on his experience on 175lbs. Will it be easy –no it won’t – but GGG will face a boxer who took on serious threats at light heavyweight while he remained unchallenged at middleweight. When he beats GGG, Ward will become the best fighter of the past 25 years –ahead of Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Now let’s not kid ourselves, Ward was inactive for two years and needs to make up for it quick to heighten his legacy. Ward is only 32, and has four more years of max activity. He has a rocky road to conquer in order to surpass the legacy of Mayweather and Pacquiao. He will have to beat Kovalev, Stevenson, Beterbiev, Shabranskyy or Gzovdyk and GGG to complete such complicated task; he has a 40/60 chance overall to achieve victory on all fights. I don’t believe Mayweather and Pacquiao ever faced as much challengers and hard fights during their respective careers as Ward might face soon if he fully takes advantage of the heavy lightweight division. Ward has the possibility to achieve a long hailed legacy. Even if Ward loses one of the fights and he wins the rematch, it won’t take away from his legacy and boxing pedigree.