Rocky Marciano, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Joe Calzaghe are routinely cited when boxing’s great unbeaten retirees are discussed, but Andre Ward’s flawless exit from the sport deserves equal recognition.
The 2004 Olympic gold medallist barely put a foot wrong as a professional under the guidance of Virgil Hunter. While Darnell Boone’s fourth-round knockdown of Ward in 2005 and his disputed first victory over Sergey Kovalev in November 2016 served as reminders that he was not invincible, Ward repeatedly found ways to prevail when it mattered most.
Three months after leaving no room for debate in the Kovalev rematch, Ward called time on his (32-0, 16 KOs) career and has never returned. Now 41, the former two-weight world champion is a respected analyst and podcaster and recently revisited his past during an interview with Carl Froch, the man he defeated to unify the super-middleweight division in 2011.
Froch, like so many others, lacked the tools to overcome Ward — but according to legendary trainer Freddie Roach, one man may have possessed them.
Roach was recently asked by Boxing Social to pick winners in a series of fantasy match-ups, one of which paired Ward with fellow super-middleweight great Joe Calzaghe.
“Big fight. Calzaghe, I was getting Steve Collins ready to fight him and all of a sudden Stevie decided to retire. He wasn’t happy with fighting that guy.
That’s a real hard fight because you’ve got a champion that’s tall, good reach, with very good combinations. But Calzaghe undefeated, never been beat, I want to say draw but I’m gonna say Calzaghe. I think Calzaghe could dig down a little deeper.”
Collins ultimately relinquished his WBO super-middleweight title, clearing the way for Calzaghe to face late replacement Chris Eubank. Calzaghe prevailed on points that night, though he has since described it as the toughest fight of his career — a reminder of the resilience Roach believes would have made him a formidable problem even for the unbeaten Ward.
