Just about ready to close the book on last night's Super Six semifinal between Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham, so here's the Showtime Sports video recap hosted by Al Bernstein, for those of you who missed the fight, or who might want to take a final, condensed glance at a fight that really can be summed up properly in 1:01.
Here's a question, because Andre Ward just keeps drawing criticism for not being exciting. Do you think his stock fell last night? The fight drew almost nobody to the Home Depot Center, proving that a five-hour drive or so is far too much for the Andre Ward fanbase, which truth be told isn't even that big in Oakland, it's just loud at the fights. Does Ward have star ability? I think he's well-spoken, charismatic, and eventually, will gain fans if he keeps on winning, because people love a winner.
But does he really have enough to become a serious star? And I don't even mean on an Oscar/Manny/Floyd-type level, either. Just a reliable attraction whose fights are looked forward to, like Shane Mosley, whose star power over the years was actually a lot higher than most gave him credit for since his biggest fights were as a B-side, giving the impression that he wasn't an A-side, when really he was a very credible and valuable A-side, too. Does he top out at Bernard Hopkins level, by which I mean a guy who everyone knows because he's good, but just isn't a draw? Can he even draw the sort of attention -- not always good -- that Hopkins draws?