By Forin: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) seems to be having a hard time getting Edwin Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KO’s) to agree to fight him on HBO. Rodriguez is reportedly demanding in excess of $ 1 million to take the fight which Ward says is not going to happen. Since everyone is entitled to price themselves the way they see fit, I am not going to comment on the financial side of this proposed match up.
What I do want to say is that this fight would definitely be more than a “total mismatch” as one particular writer likes to call it. HBO is really pushing for this fight to happen and trust me, HBO are not stupid, they like this fight for a reason.
When you think about it, Lucian Bute struggled for 12 rounds in winning a controversial decision over Denis Grachev, while Rodriguez destroyed Grachev in round 1 of their July fight in Monte Carlo.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) says that unbeaten, #1 WBC, #3 WBA, #3 IBF, #6 WBO, Edwin Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KO’s) wants $1 million plus in order for Ward to face him in what would be pretty much little more than a high caliber tune-up bout on HBO. Ward says his team already gave Rodriguez a perfectly reasonable offer, which wasn’t far from what Rodriguez’s team wants, but it was turned down. Rodriguez won’t get the $1 million plus that he’s asking for, says Ward.