ANDRE WARD retired at the top of the game. After dominating the super-middleweight division he moved up to unify three world titles at light-heavyweight. He halted Sergey Kovalev to win their rematch last year in Las Vegas. That would prove to be his last fight. Although he is still only 34 years old he has announced his retirement, and is trying to stick to it.
But he has been in the ring, training and even sparring. Although he insists he is not planning a comeback. He has been training with the boxers who will feature on a new series of The Contender television show, even sparring with them in the gym. Ward will be one of the hosts.
He admits an itch to come back but quickly qualifies that, saying, “But then all of a sudden that desire to come back somehow just disappears, it just evaporates. Being in there with them gives you the hunger and reminds you why you want to keep going. But it also reminds you and it reminded me of why I retired.”
Ward added, “I genuinely love the sport. I just wasn’t in the sport to make money and become famous. Those things were really secondary. I genuinely loved the craft, I loved the sport and even more so I loved the people that are associated with the sport. I care about the fighters because I was once was a fighter. And that’s still hard to say. But it’s a fact. I’m a former fighter and I know what these guys are going through. They’re looking for an opportunity, they’re looking for a shot.”
