Nevada Commission says "no" to the Rohan Murdock vs. Andre Ward mismatch

[The Hammer]

Seriously though, it makes me wonder what's going on with Ward. He must have some confidence issues right now. Maybe his past injuries were worse than he led us to believe? No idea, but there has to be a reason for why he's trying to take on multiple soft touches and forcing these guys out of their own weight classes.

I think he's just not willing to take the slightest risk - he wants to be absolutely sure of winning.

Remember when he refused to fight outside the USA during the Super Six?

Compare the insecurity of Andre Ward to the courage of Muhammed Ali, who fought a bigger man and fearsome puncher George Foreman in an overseas country.

[Sweet Pea 50]

Fine with the decision.

I'm a Ward guy, and I can't co-sign this fight.

[ИATAS]

Glaser says he's shot. Maybe he is right.

Do you recall why he would say that? Was it based on his performance against P-Smith or nah?

[ИATAS]

I think he's just not willing to take the slightest risk - he wants to be absolutely sure of winning.

Remember when he refused to fight outside the USA during the Super Six?

Compare the insecurity of Andre Ward to the courage of Muhammed Ali, who fought a bigger man and fearsome puncher George Foreman in an overseas country.

Well yeah, he's always made some pretty stiff demands like fighting in the US and like when he refused to fight Bute. But for the most part he's fought good opposition. Now it's Paul Smith, Rohan, talk of four tune ups...what is going on here? This isn't the behavior of a fighter who's considered one of the best in the sport. It's the behavior of a guy who just got KTFO. And even then we don't typically see 3-4 tune ups!

I'm really starting to think there could be something else at play here. Mentally, he doesn't seem right. No p4p fighter, not even people that have the Winky Wright personality disorder, would want 4 tune ups of this quality. Only frauds like the Danny Greens of the world do this kind of stuff.

[The Big Dunn]

Wow, I figured once HBO got behind it Nevada would support it. I guess fighting Smith at 175 was just too much.

[Fetta]

Oh well. Hopes he finds a replacement quick cause i would love to see him on the card

[The Big Dunn]

I've gathered from other sources the Nevada Commission has in fact said "no" to this ugly mismatch.

Props to the Nevada Commission for making the right decision! No need for Ward to take advantage of an inexperienced kid & humiliate him in front of the world.

Question: Why is Ward is trying to get used to 175 by fighting SMW's at 175? Why not fight a real 175 pounder like Yunieski Gonzalez or Vyacheslav Shabranskyy?

Because HBO is going to give him and Kov easy fights to build their matchup. They do not want to risk either losing and messing up their biggest TV fight planned for next year.

Come on Tunney, you've seen this before. You know the drill.

[SlySlickSmooth]

Ward should just fight someone like Tommy Karpency or Nadjib Mohamedi.

Nobody would expect Ward to lose to those fighters and both have fought the 175 champions.

[El-blanco]

Ward is such a loser. Just retire already.

[Deevel916]

How does fighting a 168lb Aussie Journeyman help prepare you for a fight with Kovalev?