I can work with that.. Im on a mission. Theyd get into a knock-down, drag-out fight. Ward was inside, being stretched into a pretzel by his strength and conditioning coach. As Ward finished his workout, he offered to drive me around Oakland to the many homes where he lived growing up. I was different. Some kids rushed over and joined father and son and Ward to pose for photos against the ring. [27] Ward started out slow with Abraham, trying to find a way to penetrate his tight defense. Thats when Virgil took me in. Everyone likes flash. Paulie Malignaggi noted the high degree of difficulty both fighters faced that night and doubted the prospect of a one-sided affair in the case of a rematch. Im trying to shake those ghosts.. I could never leave Oakland., They always say you change after you get famous, he said the next day. Andre Ward has never lost a fight in his professional boxing career. When I was a kid, the hill nearby and these streets seemed huge. Not every round, but I thought I was doing very good. But just like the great champions, his defense was just very good fundamentals for the most part. [citation needed]. They came over and Ward threw his arm around Dave. Throughout the fight, Ward out landed Green by nearly 200 punches. This is the first time in his life hes been inside the ring with somebody where he couldnt do exactly what he wanted to, Lopez said. Ward finished his amateur career with a record of 115 wins and 5 losses.[6]. But Ive had many. Ward dominated Ravelo for most of the fight en route to a TKO victory in the eighth round. Ward looked at Lopez and tried to keep a straight face. I reply that I believe hes the best boxer in the world. The Las Vegas Sun confirmed the bout will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Brand entered the fight as a 100-1 underdog. Its in a cul-de-sac on a quiet, narrow street. A 30-0 record, a super six championship, and appearances on numerous pound for pound lists can attest to that fact. I know Im very guarded. He did this in his world title fight vs Kessler and more notably at the end of his career vs Brant. So to counteract that and cause damage he would get up on the inside and use this as an opportunity to beat up on them when up close and would neutralize the effectiveness of their own punches. Once you have your opponent tired or even hurt, that is when you have the opportunity to unleash a strong powerful combination of punches. But thats enough to walk away and be happy. Kovalev won the fight", Larry Merchant stated after the fight. Ward earned a purse of $850,000 compared to the small amount of $30,000 earned by Brand. The worst-case scenario in my world happened. Despite this confession, Jones, 47, has now fought more than 13 years since that match. Ward knew better than anyone what greatness required. He was ready to step up to his biggest challenge against big American puncher Allan Green (25-1, 18 KOs), with the fight scheduled to take place on February 2, 2008, on HBO. Although Abraham was somewhat passive at times, he gave an earnest effort and frequently threw combinations that were mostly blocked by Ward. Every time I step in the ring, my legacy is on the line. At 16, on the night he lost his virginity, she got pregnant. His little boys were sitting there close to me and they went crazy. He rose to worldwide prominence upon entering the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament in 2009, where he won the World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight title (Super version) from Mikkel Kessler in the opening group stage. Offers online therapy. A lot of inner-city kids dont have their father. but this itself definitely gave Ward an advantage by giving him a much more powerful lead hand earning much respect from opponents. He has been quoted saying he was influenced by the top trio of Roy Jones Jr, Bernard Hopkins, and Floyd Mayweather which I can definitely see in how he fought. "[29], Advancing to the final of the Super Six, Ward fought WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) in front of 5,626 at Boardwalk Hall on December 17, 2011. I did some things well, but I felt I could have improved in other areas. Prevents Big Plays. Ward would also throw this jab from different angles. His father remained a functional addict for years, but as his illness worsened the family home was lost. Even before Ward hit his teens, Hunter teased that hed always be a one-woman guy. How many times did they bet against Floyd? Look, its obvious Ward is far from perfect just like the rest of us. [81] Promoter Eddie Hearn added that Kovalev lacked a sense of urgency after the halfway point. Ward lives in Danville, California. Ward threatened to retire if he didn't get things "his way" for the rematch. Ward ended his career undefeated with 32 wins, 16 of which came inside the distance. Of course Ward, like all conjurers, has been challenged to reveal his secrets. He successfully defended his titles in a rematch against Kovalev a year later, after which he retired from boxing. He may not be as flashy as I was, but I wasnt as flashy as Ali was when I came up either, Jones said. [95] The fight purses were revealed before the fight with Ward taking a guaranteed $6.5 million and Kovalev, not having a base purse, would receive a percentage of PPV and gate revenue. [52], On February 19, 2015 The Ring stripped Ward of the Ring champion belt due to him not having defended his title against a top #5 contender in the last two years. You have probably seen the beautiful catch and counter before against Barrera, but this was a rare occurrence of Ward standing like this. Barrera was also dropped in the eighth round from a body shot, but referee Raul Caiz Sr. saw it as a low blow and as a result deducted a point from Ward. [114] He reprised his role in Creed II, released on November 21, 2018. With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Vasquez held 78.06 percent of the vote to challengers Christian Blume's 15.14 percent and Jane Lucius' 6.6 percent. Past the age of 10, Ward has been routinely considered one of the best fighters in the world for his age. This was where I first understood my dads struggles with heroin. Required fields are marked *. When asked about the potential mega fight against Kovalev, Ward said, "It's never a problem. Ward and Froch were rated #1 and #2 respectively by Ring magazine, and the vacant Ring magazine super middleweight title was on the line, as well as Froch and Ward's super middleweight titles. These streets seem so small now, Ward said, almost in a whisper. I lost the fight, fair and square. Kovalev said the fight could have continued, "I don't know. The reason for this is he would tend to try to keep his head off centre line and would slip/duck to his right rear side while throwing his left jab helping him to avoid return fire. Wards brother, Jonathan, he confessed, never recovered from their fathers death. Andre Ward H.O.F. However as his left hand was naturally stronger, Ward would on occasion turn southpaw on occasion against some opponents. The American would always invest in these shots against the majority of the fighters he fought. This event marked Ward's first time fighting in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was later confirmed that he would fight on June 20, against British Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) at the Oracle Arena in California at a 172 lbs catchweight fight. Ward claimed a shoulder injury that required surgery was the reason for his inactivity, but the WBC claimed that Ward had not provided any medical evidence or even given them a rough availability date. Now when we think of Andre Ward and body attacks, Im not going to say he didnt stray low at times. Soaking in the response, Ward shook his head. Couldn't get caught up in the first defense too much mentally. He's very good defensively. It hurt me so bad my dad was taken like that. The three judges scored the bout 120108, 118110, and 118111. Making him one of the best technical fighters there has been in the modern era. On defense, this means being okay with the offense completing short passes over the middle because it keeps the clock running. On my final night with Ward, he had two places to show me before we parted ways. I loved the swag, the way he dressed, the country accent, what he said, the way he did it his way. Andre Ward is knocked down in the fourth round by Darnell Boone during their middleweight fight on November 19, 2005 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Andre Vasquez easily retained his seat as 40th Ward alderman. When his father would refuse to give her money for drugs, Ward remembered her hitting him. [55][56] Ward won via TKO in the 9th round. They did it to Floyd, too. Ward once described his style as formless and is no doubt inspired by what Bruce Lee said, Be shapeless, formless, like water. Ward described himself as a pick him type fighter in other words, he likes to pick you off and break you down with strong, accurate, and effective shots with a lower volume of punches. Abraham hurt Ward a couple of times in the final round, but it wasn't enough to finish Ward, who had dominated the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision. Kessler was the strong favorite going into Showtime's Super Six tournament. Everyone said he did everything wrong, but he got away with it, he said. The event produced a live gate of $3.3 million from 10,066 tickets sold, including complimentary tickets, the full attendance was announced as 13,310. "It was a classic hometown decision. On March 20, 2008, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, Ward defeated Rubin Williams by seventh-round TKO. You aint gonna get away with anything. His pastor, former NFL running back Napoleon Kaufman, has played one of the biggest roles in Wards life since he got his life back on track after his fathers death. Thats my motivation. If he wins as expected, Ward is slated to fight Russian light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, in what many believe could be professional boxings best fight in well over a decade. [47] The fight started with rough tactics until Jack Reiss made an unprecedented move, penalizing both fighters two points each and warning them that he would end the fight if it did not clean up. In my opinion, Andre Ward was a true pugilist and once in generational talent who I believe couldve fought in an era of boxing. (see below). [96], In front of 10,592, the fight ended with controversy in the 8th round with a victory for Ward. Though the 30-year-old gamely fought on, the knockout he needed to win never appeared remotely likely and he looked a spent man by the end as he picked up the second loss of his 31-fight pro career. [63] Barrera was risking his IBF mandatory position in this fight. Froch also praised Ward in winning the tournament, "Fair credit to Andre Ward. (The arenas star attraction, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, is a friend and occasionally accompanies him to the ring carrying his championship belts.) Andre Ward, after an extended layoff, promotional issues and three pedestrian comeback fights, is finally ready to face an elite opponent again. Ward to this day, is still the last man to win a gold medal at the Olympics. En route to a wide unanimous decision victory, Ward dropped Barrera to the canvas in the third round as he turned a left hook while on the ropes. [101] The replay was shown on regular HBO averaging 752,000 viewers and peaked at 947,000, which was during the final round. This pattern was repeated for many years over the course of Wards adolescence. When its hard to get out of bed two or three days after a fight and she has to help me? The dip could have been due to 21 million tuning in to the Olympics on NBC. Back in 2018 former pound-for-pound star, two-weight world champion, and Hall of Famer, Andre Ward, really caught my eye on Twitter. As an amateur boxer, Ward won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and turned professional later that year. Yes, he did punch me, but he didn't hurt me. I feel like a real champion now." Ill never forget that day. Now probably one of the harder and more complex parts of Wards game was his inside fighting ability. But as most know, footwork isnt everything in boxing and it was in fact his lead hand that he would use alongside this footwork that really made him difficult to hit. Then again, all of boxings greats who came before Ward had the same plan. She sees the aftermath. Fair enough. Ward had to adjust his game plan as he was unable to fight on the inside. The fight was to take place on BET. You look at my track record. I remember once she stabbed him. They dont tell you that really its everyone else around you that changes. His dad died suddenly of a heart attack. Atlanta, GA 30315. This type of defense is typically used before halftime or the last play of the game. [23] Fighting in front of his hometown crowd as part of a dual-site co-main event, Ward didn't land many big shots but repeatedly hit Bika with a stinging left jab that the challenger was unable to counter. Virgil Hunter kept him as an orthodox fighter. Ward won the fight via 8th round TKO and defended his WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO titles, and won the vacant The Ring title.
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