Is Andre Ward Coming Out Of Retirement?
Fans believe Andre Ward has teased a comeback, causing a massive stir.
The former unified super middleweight and unified lightweight champion retired with a 32-0 record. He defeated Sergey Kovalev in consecutive fights to unify at 175 before retiring in 2017. His biggest wins came against Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler and Kovalev. Since his retirement, he has gone into commentating. He was a regular on ESPN until he left the platform last year. Ward had considered coming out of retirement on several occasions.
Ward On Coming Back
“Yeah, of course [I’ve thought about coming out of retirement for a fight of that magnitude]. I am hard-wired to compete. It’s like I’ve had to retire multiple times. I’ve had to talk myself off the ledge [of coming out of retirement] multiple times. It’s not easy. Retirement is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life … It’s been six years and nobody has called my name. There is a reason for that,” Ward said
More recently, Ward was spotted helping Terence Crawford in the gym. The following clip shows Crawford and Ward sparring. Ward appears to be helping Crawford judge distance, which will be vital when he boxes Israil Madrimov on August 3. It is Crawrford’s first fight at 154 against a heavy-handed fighter, which Ward knows all too well when he took on Kovalev. Now, it appears Ward wants to make a comeback.
This begs the question, who would Ward face? Well, he is now 40 years old, making it less likely that he will face the big names at 168. He has been linked with the Canelo Alvarez fight. However, he is no longer at his peak, making that a risky fight.
“My name was never mentioned with Canelo Alvarez until he fought a common opponent and he fought Sergey Kovalev. Kovalev, I don’t want to say he was shot, but he was on his way out the door. He wasn’t the ‘Krusher’ at that point in time. That’s a strategic move, and that’s what Canelo does. People get mad when you say that. He’s earned the right. He’s in the position with the fanfare that he has with a country behind him to pick and choose who he likes. That’s cool. You can do that,” Ward stated
Possible Names
The same can be said for a fight with the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. They fight for undisputed on October 12. Beterbiev is 39, while Bivol is 33. A fight with either of them would be risky, but Beterbiev, the much older fighter, has shown weakness late with several injuries. He will more likely find success if he takes on YouTube boxers or has an exhibition with one of his former rivals.
Carl Froch had been chasing the Ward rematch, but it never happened. A narrative could be in place to make that happen via a pro-fight or an exhibition. The same could be said for a fight with GGG. Golovkin has not boxed since losing to Canelo in their trilogy in 2022. The Khazak is also 40 years old. He has said that he may consider fighting again, as he has not officially announced his retirement.
Since GGG has fought at 168, the weight class is ripe for Ward to make a return. If there is enough of a demand, the Saudis could get behind such an idea. Ward is a Hall of Famer with enough of a legacy to sell a fight to the fans. With the paydays much bigger now, Ward could be tempted.
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