Here's a video of promoter Dan Goossen discussing his top fighter, Andre Ward:
Goossen: "He is good-looking, he does hold himself up well outside that ring, he is charismatic, well-spoken. He's got all the ingredients, that if you were building a fighter, a superstar, you could build Andre Ward from the ground up, and that would be your ultimate fighter."
Obviously Goossen is biased, and the comparisons to fellow former Olympic gold medalists Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar de la Hoya may be premature, but Ward (24-0, 13 KO) is a favorite of veteran fighters, too, it seems, and Leonard has in particular taken a liking to Ward, praising the fighter several times.
We've discussed before whether or not Ward has superstar potential. Some say no, but I think maybe we need to re-frame "superstar." To those in boxing, I think Bernard Hopkins probably qualifies as a "superstar," because if not, there are only two of them out there today: Mayweather and Manny, and Ward doesn't have the things that have made them both huge money-makers. He's not brash like Floyd, not exciting like Manny. But he's a good fighter who wins, and I've said before that people love winners. They like to root for winners. It's the reason that suddenly I see 13-year-old kids in Indiana wearing Red Sox shirts.
Superstar potential depends on the definition of superstar, I guess is what I'm saying.
Also, the two Ward vs Froch press conferences from New York and Oakland on Tuesday and Wednesday will be streamed live online, and we'll be covering both live on the site for fun. Those who are in the Oakland area, the Wednesday presser there is open to the public. Click here for details.