Andre Ward: record, next fight and profile →
Up until a few short weeks ago, this coming Saturday night was expected to be the light heavyweight debut of Andre Ward, who ruled the super middleweight division for several years. Ward (28-0, 15KOs), 31-years-old, returned on June 20th in what was his first bout since the fall of 2013, when he won a dominating decision over Edwin Rodriguez. When he returned earlier this year, he punished Paul Smith for a ninth round TKO win.
Virgil Hunter, trainer of Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward (28-0, 15KOs), looks forward to next year's battle with WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25KOs). Ward has a highly successful run in the super middleweight division with wins over Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, Chad Dawson, Sakio Bika, Edwin Rodriguez, Carl Froch, Edison Miranda, Allan Green, and several others.
Cruiserweight: Ola Afolabi won’t go gentle into the good night. His knockout of Rakhim Chakhkiev keeps him relevant in the top ten once removed from a loss to Victor Ramirez. Chakhkiev exits the top ten, making room for Ovil McKenzie who drew with Ramirez in his last outing.
Virgil Hunter, trainer of former super middleweight king Andre Ward (28-0, 15KOs), is disappointed that a showdown never happened with WBA/IBO/IBF middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs). The two sides were never in serious talks, with Roc Nation Sports stating to BoxingScene.com several weeks ago that Golovkin's promoter, Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, rejected their advances in 36 minutes.
by David P. Greisman - It’s fitting that this coming weekend’s pay-per-view featuring Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez in the main event went from having Andre Ward on the undercard to having Guillermo Rigondeaux in that spot instead. Both won gold medals in the Olympics (Rigondeaux has two of them). Both were the best in their respective divisions in the pros, Ward at super middleweight and Rigondeaux at junior featherweight. Both were out of the spotlight before signing with Roc Nation Sports. And both have been criticized in the past for their styles of boxing. That’s not why Ward fought so rarely between 2012 and now, nor is it why he won’t be in the ring on Saturday’s broadcast. He pulled out of this fight due to inflammation and pain in his right knee. Rigondeaux, meanwhile, wasn’t anywhere near as inactive as Ward. While Ward fought once in 2012, once in 2013, not at all in 2014 and once earlier this year, Rigondeaux had fought three times in 2012, twice in 2013, twice in 2014 and not at all so far in 2015.
Andre Ward didn’t exactly sound Wednesday night as if he is in a hurry to get in the ring with Sergey Kovalev. During an interview with HBO’s Michelle Beadle as part of a new episode of “The Fight Game with Jim Lampley” that debuted Wednesday night, Ward was honest about when he thinks a fight against Kovalev will take place. Beadle asked about facing Kovalev because that light heavyweight fight reportedly is part of the new deal Ward signed recently with HBO, the premium-cable network that also employs the undefeated WBA “super” super middleweight champion as a broadcaster.
Andre Ward raised a few eyebrows during his recent appearance on 'the Fight Game with Jim Lampley' on HBO when he intimated to Michelle Beadle that he would not be rushed into a fight with light-heavyweight Sergey Kovalev. The belief is that Ward's new multi-fight deal with HBO would call for him to face 'the Krusher' at some point next year.
NEW YORK – In advance of his upcoming move up to the light heavyweight division, WBA Super Middleweight World Champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KO’s) is vacating his title. Ward originally claimed the belt in November 2009 with a victory over long-time champion Mikkel Kessler in his opening fight of the Super Six tournament.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) was a controversial figure for much of his career, and he continues to generate headlines in his retirement. Mayweather voiced a strong opinion on the current landscape in boxing, explaining what he believes to be a certain level of favoritism, at least politically, when it comes to certain races and ethnicities.
Earlier this week, soon to be light heavyweight contender Andre Ward (28-0, 15KOs) officially withdrew from a scheduled slot as the co-featured attraction to the Miguel Cotto vs. Saul Alvarez HBO Pay-Per-View undercard. Ward suffered a knee injury during training camp. Ward is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, but his inactivity is killing his momentum. He last fought June, where he stopped overmatched Paul Smith - and it was Ward's first bout since the fall of 2013.