Andre Ward is a dirty fighter

Blatant use/positioning of head. You don't have to dig your head into your opponent's face when your'e both clinched and he's already in a compromised ring position (i.e. back against the ropes)

"Subtle" rabbit punching. When you know your opponent is going to weave under your hook so you purposely add extra arc and less range so the punch lands on the back of his head but looks accidental.

Holding an arm out to cover your opponents vision, Technically illegal but it never gets called.

Holding your opponent's head down with forearms after missing a hook. Putting opponent in headlock after missing a jab. Both are technically illegal but rarely get called.

Let's not forget the elbows thrown in the Bika fight (i also specifaclly remember one in the Froch fight). Although I'll let the Bika fight slide because Bika played dirty himself.

Hopkins used to piss me off with his thigh and butt punches and especially his right cross-"accidental" headbutt combo.I'm not condoning Hopkins' use of "accidental" fouls but Ward is not some 46 year old man in need of a handicapp. Ward is in his physical prime and the handicapp in this fight was already built in with Dawson's weight loss and Ward's homecourt advantage.

Ward is a great fighter. So good in fact that he doesn't need to fight dirty, and that's what pisses me off. Being super-religious and still commiting multiple "accidental" fouls only makes it worse.

I agree with your post. As I was watcking the fight I was thinking Ward really knows all the little tricks. He is almost at times aplogetic(with his facial expressions) then does it again. He uses his head as a battering ram. He was winning easily and didn't need the excess butting. I was waiting for Dawson to get pissed about the fouling and the head getting pushed down but he accepted it. There was nothing there mentally with Dawson.

Andre Ward knows the little tricks like Hopkins...great fighter!

Holyfield, Bhop, Mayweather and Tyson were dirty fighters too, they are also great. Chad is the idiot that called out Ward, Ward is going to be hard to beat, Chad had problems with Glen Johnson and Pascal, Dawson probably just killed his career, who gives him advice Winky Wright? Chad could have cleaned out the 175 division, now he will never be the same.

Ward is a master in there.

Ward is my P4P #1, has all the skills and fights the best. That said, he is dirty and doesn't make for the most entertaining fights.

shit for those who think ward is a dirty fighter, than what would you call guys like fritzie zivic, harry greb, sandy saddler, lew jenkins, gunboat smith? just to name a few..  ward is a a great fighter, who is a student of the game, dirty, that is like saying stevie johnston was a big puncher.....

The thread was about Ward being dirty on todays rules and what you can get away with. The guys you mentioned were from a different era when the rules were a little different. They stop fights quicker today then in the 40's. Alot has changed the equipment, well you name it. They even check your urine today...ask Chavez. Now he's a dirty fighter in more ways then one.

rules were basically the same back then although the refs would let you get away with a little more, but these guys were often penalized for using rough tactics, this is not the case with ward, he never gets penalized even by todays stricter rule inforcement by the refs,  ward is not dirty, he is simply advanced at every aspect of the game than his opponents right now,      but  to me their is nothing wrong with being dirty (although ward is not) do what you can get a way with,  it's the refs job to penalize fighters that are being dirty, like say andrew golota or abner mares,  refs do not penalized ward because he is not dirty. 

i think hopkins is who you could classify as a dirty fighter as his head is now used as his left jab to set up his overhand or straight right. a good example of this was against both dawson and winky. when he was younger he had a good jab(trinidad) and only added the headbut into his repertoire as his skills diminished and he moved up in weight.

i dont think that people truly appreciate the greatness of bernard hopkins and what he was able to accomplish evolving into different styles in multiple weight classes.

ward isn't dirty