CORY SPINKS GIVES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ANDRE WARD'S VICTORY OVER BARRERA: "HE'S GOING TO BEAT KOVALEV"
By Percy Crawford | March 28, 2016
PC: Jinx, you have moved up in weight and competed as high as middleweight after being the undisputed welterweight champion. What did you think of Andre Ward's light heavyweight debut against Sullivan Barrera?
CS: The guy, man, I watched the fight twice last night. That's what I was telling my wife, "This guy is super amazing." He is so smart in the ring. His footwork is amazing and off of that long layoff, people don't understand, he fought a Cuban. Cubans live and breathe boxing and the guy was bigger and Ward made it seem like he belonged there. He pushed this guy back at times.
PC: I think Andre Ward took a fight that shouldn't have been an easy fight and made it easy.
CS: Very easy, man. This man got defense on the outside and the inside. That's why it looked so easy. People want to talk about he fought a nobody. These people don't know about Cubans. Really Cuban fighters have way more experience than American fighters. When they get into boxing, they push them hard because that's all they have. That's why they have so many Gold Medals. Andre Ward took a risk fighting an undefeated Cuban fighter that was undefeated and he was the bigger guy and he made him look like he just started boxing. He made it look so easy. I was blown away, man. I did see some ring rust and he admitted that at the end of the fight. He made it look so easy. To some people, it don't even look like he had ring rust. I could tell by the way he would wing some of the punches sometimes.
PC: I was going to ask you because obviously to us as fans, we can't dissect things the way a fighter could. When you say you saw ring rust, what were some of the things that you saw that you felt maybe if he had been active, you wouldn't have saw him commit those things?
CS: Well, he loaded up sometimes on punches and missed wide open shots and you don't normally see Andre Ward miss shots like that. So that's how I know he had some ring rust and his timing wasn't all the way there. It was there because he has natural ability, but his timing wasn't always there and because of that, sometimes you would see him wing a shot and miss it badly, but other than that, man, his defense and all that was tremendous, man. This guy is great. I don't see why he's not looked at as a skillful fighter. You never see him mentioned as one of the top defensive fighters, but he's just as skillful as me, Floyd, or anyone else.
PC: His boxing IQ is probably his best asset. He understands boxing and he understands situational boxing.
CS: It's through the roof; through the roof. That's why he made a hard fight seem so easy because his boxing IQ is out the roof. Look how he transitions his distance from a taller fighter and then get in on the inside well.
PC: He also throws that underused jab to the body very well.
CS: You know what? He was trying to...I can see what he was trying to do with that. He was trying to set him up with that jab and come over the top with his right hand, but it wasn't there because the guy wouldn't really fall for it, so he didn't throw it.
PC: Yeah, Barrera wouldn't lean forward and commit to block that shot.
CS: Exactly, and that's why Ward didn't let that right hand go. He really wanted to make a statement and try and knock the dude out, but the guy wouldn't fall for it. And that shows how high his IQ is as well because if it's not there, don't throw it.
PC: We usually see him switch a lot. He stayed orthodox the entire fight. Were you surprised by that or was it not that surprising given his time off, that's something you have to be comfortable and in a rhythm to do?
CS: You have to be in a rhythm to switch because you can get caught switching. He didn't want to take too many chances because he was fighting a bigger, stronger guy. I think people are underestimating that fact because of how Andre Ward made the fight look. Of course Andre Ward knew the guy was bigger and stronger, but he knew what he had to do. He's going to beat Kovalev.
PC: I was going to ask you about that fight. Why do you feel Ward can beat Kovalev if that fight happens?
CS: He's too smart. Andre Ward said he's not looking past nobody, but you seen what he said, "It's not if it's going to happen, it's when," and that's because he's confident in his ability to box this guy.
PC: You've told me in the past Andre Ward is your favorite active fighter. What is it about him that makes him your favorite?
CS: His boxing IQ and he's not scared to face nobody. He'll fight anyone. He's talking about fighting supposedly the most dangerous man in boxing. Andre Ward moved up just to fight him and that says a lot.
PC: When you see a guy like Ward moving up in weight, what are some of the things you look for that assures you that they belong in that new weight class, or at the very least, that they can compete there?
CS: I wanted to see if he could handle the power and the physical strength of the upper weight class and he handled it beautifully. It was a masterful performance. I'm telling you, when I told my wife that I looked at that fight again last night, she was like, "You really like Andre Ward," and I was like, "Yes! This dude is amazing." The things that he does in the ring is so beautiful. He graded himself a B-! That's crazy to me. To move up to light heavyweight, a bigger weight class and to put on a performance like that against a supposed-to-be puncher who is Cuban? All Cuban fighters have high boxing IQ's and he couldn't figure out what to do in there. I was amazed.
I gotta crush the naysayers that talk about him fighting a nobody. Are you crazy? This dude was undefeated. I mean, they got people out there that call Andre Ward a boring fighter. That was an exciting fight. I don't know what these people thinking, man. They criticize Floyd too and say that man boring too, but they are doing what boxing means; they sticking to the art of hitting and not getting hit. When people say that about Floyd or whatever, I say, "No man, he's doing what he's supposed to do. He's breaking his opponents down mentally because it's frustrating when you can't hit a guy, and then he breaks them down and by the time you try to change it up, the fight is over." But with Andre Ward, it's a lil' different. He's a little bit more offensive, but he uses his defense the same way.
PC: No one enters the sport of boxing to take punishment.
CS: Of course not. Every fighter's going to get hit. Andre Ward got hit Saturday night, but it's a certain mentality of knowing what he has to do and not taking flush punches. He barely got hit because his IQ is so high and he sees everything coming.
PC: I agree, man. It's not about taking two to get off one. And that's not a knock to the guys that fight like that because they probably have to fight like that, but if they could have it any other way, they would.
CS: That's right! It's about being slippery and slick; slick 'em and trick 'em and making your opponent pay when they miss. Every time you make a guy miss, the counter is not automatically going to be there, but you gotta get on up out the way.
CORY SPINKS GIVES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ANDRE WARD'S VICTORY OVER BARRERA: "HE'S GOING TO BEAT KOVALEV" || FIGHTHYPE.COM
MARK "TOO SHARP" JOHNSON REVIEWS ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE IN 175 DEBUT AND FUTURE KOVALEV CLASH
By Percy Crawford | March 29, 2016
"Andre Ward looked a little bigger than I was used to seeing him look, but he still had that speed. The main thing for me was is he going to take any of his punching power up to the light heavyweight division. Even though he wasn't knocking a lot of people out at super middleweight and he was mainly outboxing them, he muscled a lot of guys. I think it's going to be a very tough fight for him if he fights Kovalev," stated Hall of Famer Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, who shared his thoughts on Andre Ward's dominant unanimous decision victory over Sullivan Barrera. Check out what else he had to say about the performance, a future showdown with light heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev, and more.
MARK JOHNSON ON ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST SULLIVAN BARRERA:
"I think the performance was a little bit of both in the sense that, I think it was Andre Ward is a different level of fighter and I also think it was a little bit of Sullivan Barrera not being who we thought he was. A lot of times, we cover these guys and they did certain things in the light heavyweight division and they become the #1, #2 or #3 contender. We have seen in the light heavyweight division when Roy Jones was the champ. Roy could play a basketball game that evening and fight the #1 contender that night, which shows us that the light heavyweight division, before Kovalev came around, was a weak division. I didn't think Barrera was that good of a fighter. I thought it was a good trial horse; a guy that can punch a little bit, a guy that can make you fight for 12 rounds, make you use your legs, and make you think a lot in there. He was the right opponent for that. When you have a guy like that, you already know this fight right here is a tune up fight. Fights like that is not for the crowd, it's for you. It was all about going 12 rounds with a natural light heavyweight. He didn't know how it was going to feel to get hit, but his goal was to go 12 rounds with a trial horse and that's what he did.
Andre Ward knows that as a light heavyweight, I gotta make the right fights; I'm getting older, I'm inactive, so let's get in the ring and make the best fights that I can make, and he has to do the fight with Kovalev. I think he should do it after one more fight. I would definitely like to see him take one more warm-up battle. That would be good for him where he could kind of get some more rounds in to get the rust off because Kovalev is a big guy and he can punch. I think I seen Andre take a little more risk than I have ever seen him take. I think he wanted to come out and show the public that he was a natural light heavyweight and this is what he can do. He fought a guy that, to me, I thought was a great opponent. I didn't think the guy could really hurt him or necessarily hit him, but he showed he could fight 12 rounds against a real light heavyweight. I think he should be alright. I think one more tune up will be alright; that way he could really feel how being a light heavyweight feels."
MARK JOHNSON ON ANDRE WARD VS. SERGEY KOVALEV:
"As far as a fight against Kovalev and how it would play out, I think if Andre Ward gets another fight where he shows he's going to be active, I think him and Kovalev would be a better fight. If he takes another fight, you could make that fight a 50/50 or a 60/40, but I feel like if he takes a fight before he fights Kovalev, he has to knock this guy out or get some kind of stoppage. I think if he went into the fight right now, I would have to go with Kovalev if it's his next fight. I think if you give Andre one tune-up, I think you're looking at a 50/50 fight. Once again, I think Kovalev is the biggest and strongest light heavyweight that I have ever seen in boxing, but what's going to happen when he fights a moving target? What's going to happen when he fights a guy faster than him? What's going to happen when he throws two jabs and Andre Ward counters him with his speed? Is he going to get discouraged? What's going to happen if he catch Andre for 2, 3, 4 rounds with them big shots and Andre still there outboxing him? If you look at his last couple of fights, he's known for beating people down, so when you don't get that same reaction from Andre Ward, he may be in for a long fight. I'm just giving it to you from both sides. We know what Andre's going to do. We know how he's going to fight. It ain't no secret in what he's going to do, but can Kovalev make Andre fight his fight? Can Kovalev make Andre fight his fight? So you dealing with a chess match, but I think if he hits Ward with a lot of big shots early and Ward is doing a lot of countering and moving, I think Kovalev may get discouraged."
MARK "TOO SHARP" JOHNSON REVIEWS ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE IN 175 DEBUT AND FUTURE KOVALEV CLASH || FIGHTHYPE.COM
By Percy Crawford | March 28, 2016
PC: Jinx, you have moved up in weight and competed as high as middleweight after being the undisputed welterweight champion. What did you think of Andre Ward's light heavyweight debut against Sullivan Barrera?
CS: The guy, man, I watched the fight twice last night. That's what I was telling my wife, "This guy is super amazing." He is so smart in the ring. His footwork is amazing and off of that long layoff, people don't understand, he fought a Cuban. Cubans live and breathe boxing and the guy was bigger and Ward made it seem like he belonged there. He pushed this guy back at times.
PC: I think Andre Ward took a fight that shouldn't have been an easy fight and made it easy.
CS: Very easy, man. This man got defense on the outside and the inside. That's why it looked so easy. People want to talk about he fought a nobody. These people don't know about Cubans. Really Cuban fighters have way more experience than American fighters. When they get into boxing, they push them hard because that's all they have. That's why they have so many Gold Medals. Andre Ward took a risk fighting an undefeated Cuban fighter that was undefeated and he was the bigger guy and he made him look like he just started boxing. He made it look so easy. I was blown away, man. I did see some ring rust and he admitted that at the end of the fight. He made it look so easy. To some people, it don't even look like he had ring rust. I could tell by the way he would wing some of the punches sometimes.
PC: I was going to ask you because obviously to us as fans, we can't dissect things the way a fighter could. When you say you saw ring rust, what were some of the things that you saw that you felt maybe if he had been active, you wouldn't have saw him commit those things?
CS: Well, he loaded up sometimes on punches and missed wide open shots and you don't normally see Andre Ward miss shots like that. So that's how I know he had some ring rust and his timing wasn't all the way there. It was there because he has natural ability, but his timing wasn't always there and because of that, sometimes you would see him wing a shot and miss it badly, but other than that, man, his defense and all that was tremendous, man. This guy is great. I don't see why he's not looked at as a skillful fighter. You never see him mentioned as one of the top defensive fighters, but he's just as skillful as me, Floyd, or anyone else.
PC: His boxing IQ is probably his best asset. He understands boxing and he understands situational boxing.
CS: It's through the roof; through the roof. That's why he made a hard fight seem so easy because his boxing IQ is out the roof. Look how he transitions his distance from a taller fighter and then get in on the inside well.
PC: He also throws that underused jab to the body very well.
CS: You know what? He was trying to...I can see what he was trying to do with that. He was trying to set him up with that jab and come over the top with his right hand, but it wasn't there because the guy wouldn't really fall for it, so he didn't throw it.
PC: Yeah, Barrera wouldn't lean forward and commit to block that shot.
CS: Exactly, and that's why Ward didn't let that right hand go. He really wanted to make a statement and try and knock the dude out, but the guy wouldn't fall for it. And that shows how high his IQ is as well because if it's not there, don't throw it.
PC: We usually see him switch a lot. He stayed orthodox the entire fight. Were you surprised by that or was it not that surprising given his time off, that's something you have to be comfortable and in a rhythm to do?
CS: You have to be in a rhythm to switch because you can get caught switching. He didn't want to take too many chances because he was fighting a bigger, stronger guy. I think people are underestimating that fact because of how Andre Ward made the fight look. Of course Andre Ward knew the guy was bigger and stronger, but he knew what he had to do. He's going to beat Kovalev.
PC: I was going to ask you about that fight. Why do you feel Ward can beat Kovalev if that fight happens?
CS: He's too smart. Andre Ward said he's not looking past nobody, but you seen what he said, "It's not if it's going to happen, it's when," and that's because he's confident in his ability to box this guy.
PC: You've told me in the past Andre Ward is your favorite active fighter. What is it about him that makes him your favorite?
CS: His boxing IQ and he's not scared to face nobody. He'll fight anyone. He's talking about fighting supposedly the most dangerous man in boxing. Andre Ward moved up just to fight him and that says a lot.
PC: When you see a guy like Ward moving up in weight, what are some of the things you look for that assures you that they belong in that new weight class, or at the very least, that they can compete there?
CS: I wanted to see if he could handle the power and the physical strength of the upper weight class and he handled it beautifully. It was a masterful performance. I'm telling you, when I told my wife that I looked at that fight again last night, she was like, "You really like Andre Ward," and I was like, "Yes! This dude is amazing." The things that he does in the ring is so beautiful. He graded himself a B-! That's crazy to me. To move up to light heavyweight, a bigger weight class and to put on a performance like that against a supposed-to-be puncher who is Cuban? All Cuban fighters have high boxing IQ's and he couldn't figure out what to do in there. I was amazed.
I gotta crush the naysayers that talk about him fighting a nobody. Are you crazy? This dude was undefeated. I mean, they got people out there that call Andre Ward a boring fighter. That was an exciting fight. I don't know what these people thinking, man. They criticize Floyd too and say that man boring too, but they are doing what boxing means; they sticking to the art of hitting and not getting hit. When people say that about Floyd or whatever, I say, "No man, he's doing what he's supposed to do. He's breaking his opponents down mentally because it's frustrating when you can't hit a guy, and then he breaks them down and by the time you try to change it up, the fight is over." But with Andre Ward, it's a lil' different. He's a little bit more offensive, but he uses his defense the same way.
PC: No one enters the sport of boxing to take punishment.
CS: Of course not. Every fighter's going to get hit. Andre Ward got hit Saturday night, but it's a certain mentality of knowing what he has to do and not taking flush punches. He barely got hit because his IQ is so high and he sees everything coming.
PC: I agree, man. It's not about taking two to get off one. And that's not a knock to the guys that fight like that because they probably have to fight like that, but if they could have it any other way, they would.
CS: That's right! It's about being slippery and slick; slick 'em and trick 'em and making your opponent pay when they miss. Every time you make a guy miss, the counter is not automatically going to be there, but you gotta get on up out the way.
CORY SPINKS GIVES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ANDRE WARD'S VICTORY OVER BARRERA: "HE'S GOING TO BEAT KOVALEV" || FIGHTHYPE.COM
MARK "TOO SHARP" JOHNSON REVIEWS ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE IN 175 DEBUT AND FUTURE KOVALEV CLASH
By Percy Crawford | March 29, 2016
"Andre Ward looked a little bigger than I was used to seeing him look, but he still had that speed. The main thing for me was is he going to take any of his punching power up to the light heavyweight division. Even though he wasn't knocking a lot of people out at super middleweight and he was mainly outboxing them, he muscled a lot of guys. I think it's going to be a very tough fight for him if he fights Kovalev," stated Hall of Famer Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, who shared his thoughts on Andre Ward's dominant unanimous decision victory over Sullivan Barrera. Check out what else he had to say about the performance, a future showdown with light heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev, and more.
MARK JOHNSON ON ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST SULLIVAN BARRERA:
"I think the performance was a little bit of both in the sense that, I think it was Andre Ward is a different level of fighter and I also think it was a little bit of Sullivan Barrera not being who we thought he was. A lot of times, we cover these guys and they did certain things in the light heavyweight division and they become the #1, #2 or #3 contender. We have seen in the light heavyweight division when Roy Jones was the champ. Roy could play a basketball game that evening and fight the #1 contender that night, which shows us that the light heavyweight division, before Kovalev came around, was a weak division. I didn't think Barrera was that good of a fighter. I thought it was a good trial horse; a guy that can punch a little bit, a guy that can make you fight for 12 rounds, make you use your legs, and make you think a lot in there. He was the right opponent for that. When you have a guy like that, you already know this fight right here is a tune up fight. Fights like that is not for the crowd, it's for you. It was all about going 12 rounds with a natural light heavyweight. He didn't know how it was going to feel to get hit, but his goal was to go 12 rounds with a trial horse and that's what he did.
Andre Ward knows that as a light heavyweight, I gotta make the right fights; I'm getting older, I'm inactive, so let's get in the ring and make the best fights that I can make, and he has to do the fight with Kovalev. I think he should do it after one more fight. I would definitely like to see him take one more warm-up battle. That would be good for him where he could kind of get some more rounds in to get the rust off because Kovalev is a big guy and he can punch. I think I seen Andre take a little more risk than I have ever seen him take. I think he wanted to come out and show the public that he was a natural light heavyweight and this is what he can do. He fought a guy that, to me, I thought was a great opponent. I didn't think the guy could really hurt him or necessarily hit him, but he showed he could fight 12 rounds against a real light heavyweight. I think he should be alright. I think one more tune up will be alright; that way he could really feel how being a light heavyweight feels."
MARK JOHNSON ON ANDRE WARD VS. SERGEY KOVALEV:
"As far as a fight against Kovalev and how it would play out, I think if Andre Ward gets another fight where he shows he's going to be active, I think him and Kovalev would be a better fight. If he takes another fight, you could make that fight a 50/50 or a 60/40, but I feel like if he takes a fight before he fights Kovalev, he has to knock this guy out or get some kind of stoppage. I think if he went into the fight right now, I would have to go with Kovalev if it's his next fight. I think if you give Andre one tune-up, I think you're looking at a 50/50 fight. Once again, I think Kovalev is the biggest and strongest light heavyweight that I have ever seen in boxing, but what's going to happen when he fights a moving target? What's going to happen when he fights a guy faster than him? What's going to happen when he throws two jabs and Andre Ward counters him with his speed? Is he going to get discouraged? What's going to happen if he catch Andre for 2, 3, 4 rounds with them big shots and Andre still there outboxing him? If you look at his last couple of fights, he's known for beating people down, so when you don't get that same reaction from Andre Ward, he may be in for a long fight. I'm just giving it to you from both sides. We know what Andre's going to do. We know how he's going to fight. It ain't no secret in what he's going to do, but can Kovalev make Andre fight his fight? Can Kovalev make Andre fight his fight? So you dealing with a chess match, but I think if he hits Ward with a lot of big shots early and Ward is doing a lot of countering and moving, I think Kovalev may get discouraged."
MARK "TOO SHARP" JOHNSON REVIEWS ANDRE WARD'S PERFORMANCE IN 175 DEBUT AND FUTURE KOVALEV CLASH || FIGHTHYPE.COM
