By Lyle Fitzsimmons
When it comes to street cred, Andre Ward’s clearly got collateral.
Though the 2004 Olympic champion and consensus professional elite has fought for pay just three times in the last 51 months, he’s managed to maintain the sort of lofty regard most full-timers would kill for.
He’s considered the third-best light heavyweight fighter on the planet by the London-based Premier Boxing Organization, which ranks all fighters in a division regardless of their title belts; and is slotted fourth overall on the pound-for-pound list by no less an authority than Ring Magazine.
The latter standing, by the way, keeps him in the top-five company of guys named Gonzalez, Kovalev, Golovkin and Rigondeaux. And, if you ask the 32-year-old Californian, there’s still plenty of room or upward mobility.
“I hope I’m getting better. I’m very hard on myself personally. But looking at my performances in the gym and different things like that, given the layoffs, I’m pleased,” he said.
“It could always be better, but I feel like I’m in the middle of my prime right now. Not looking behind too much, really just focused on the future and I like what I’m seeing in the gym. I like what I see in my fights. And I just think I’m evolving into a more mature fighter.”
That could be difficult news for one Sullivan Barrera.
The 34-year-old Cuban will serve as Ward’s latest measuring stick on Saturday night, when the two get together for a scheduled 12-rounder atop a card at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. HBO will show Ward-Barrera – alongside a 10-rounder between featherweights Joseph Diaz Jr. and Jayson Velez – in a two-bout “World Championship Boxing” show set to begin at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.
“You look at a young 20-year-old Floyd and he’s moving all over the ring, and then you see Floyd in his 30s and he’s moving just enough. That’s the zone that I’m getting into right now,” Ward said. “The key to all of this from a physical standpoint is not putting poison in your body, not mistreating your body and actually still being mentally engaged in the sport.
“When I was off, I cared about the sport, I was around the sport, I watched the sport, I commentated, I stayed in the gym. Days that I didn’t want to be there, days that I was like ‘Man, this is never going to end,’ I stayed in the gym. And it seemed like you’re wasting your time, but then when you get that phone call that it all was done and resolved, then you see the results and the fruit of all your labor. That’s just been the key over the last couple years. Just keep hammering away. Just stay in the gym and keep working your craft and then you’ll see the fruit later on down the road.”
I chatted with Ward recently to discuss the time he’s spent away from the ring, the positive vibes he still gets from fans in spite of his absences, and his feel for how the hardships might have been a benefit.
Q: The first thing that people think about these days when think of you is, “Hey, he’s probably – if not the best fighter in the world – he’s certainly one of the top three or four. He has been for a long time. But we don’t see him enough. He’s been hurt. He’s only fought a couple of times in the last couple of years.” How frustrating is it to you that that’s become the narrative around your name?
A: The only thing that’s frustrating about it is sometimes people – and this is just life right now – people don’t fact check. I’ve had a 10-plus year career and the last maybe two years have been rough. There have been surgeries, and there has been obviously a lawsuit that I was embroiled in, and that’s just like the narrative. Everybody forgets about everything that happened since then and nobody remembers that I just fought seven, eight months ago.
That’s the part that can be frustrating. But I get it. Even the shoulder surgery and the lawsuit. That’s life. If I had to give up boxing today I don’t have any regrets. Of course there would be things that I would say ‘Man I wish I could’ve did this or did that,’ but I wouldn’t regret anything because I’ve had a 10-plus year career and I’ve been doing this total time over 20 years.
So I’ve had my share. I’ve had a tremendous time doing this. I still enjoy doing it. And it’s just one of those things you’ve just got to deal with. Some people get it. Some people fact-check and say ‘No, this is what happened, these are the statistics,’ but most people they just read the headline and the name is kind of marred with that stuff. But I can’t worry about it. It’s unfortunate, but I can’t worry about it.
Q: In spite of those issues, overall, do you feel the regard you get from most people is still positive? Are you getting a fair shake?
A: To be honest with you, I can’t really say in terms of the gist of many writers because I don’t read a lot of press about myself. I generally know what’s being said just because I’ve been around the game, I get the overflow and examine the trends and what not. I think the biggest thing is like ‘Man, we want to see more of you.’ And I totally understand that regardless of what the facts are.
I get that from a fan’s standpoint and a supporter’s standpoint, it’s not fun. It’s frustrating. It’s something I’m not happy about, but at the same time it could be a lot worse. I just try to keep a positive outlook on it and understand that God has blessed me with over 10 years of a professional career, and I’ve had a two-year hiccup. But the key is persevering through that.
Every time we’ve fought after a layoff we’ve shown that I’ve still been dedicating myself to my craft. I still care about this sport and the performances speak for themselves.
Q: How much of a benefit is it that even though you were not in the ring, you do have ways of staying in touch with the sport? How much will that help come March 26 and the times after that that you didn’t go away, you didn’t gain 20 pounds or anything like that?
A: It’s important. You’ve got to talk to yourself. You can’t look at yourself and say ‘I won this fight, I beat this guy.’ Every day you have to find a reason. You’ve got to find a reason to get up early. You’ve got to find a reason to go to the gym. You’ve got to find a reason to fight two and three guys three days a week when you’re sparring. You’ve got to find a reason to do that.
I really learned a lot about myself in that two-year span because there were plenty of times I wanted to give up. There were plenty of times that I wanted to walk away from the sport because I didn’t sign up for lawsuits. I didn’t sign up for that kind of thing. But then you’ve got to remind yourself, ‘Hey man this is life.’ Your fans need to see you when you’re going through it, but they also need to see you when you’re up. Sometimes as athletes we just want to be up, we always want to show everybody all the good stuff. I was glad that my fans got to see that I was around the sport, they could reach out and touch me and ask me about it because that’s the reality of life. You’ve got to deal with that.
I’ve been able to pass that two-year lesson onto a lot of young fighters that I’ve been in contact with and I’m going to pass that stuff on to my kids. So I embrace the good and the bad and it’s all just made me into a monster and made me a lot hungrier.
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This week's title-fight schedule:
IBF welterweight title - Sheffield, United Kingdom
Kell Brook (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Kevin Bizier (No. 1 IBF/No. 26 IWBR)
Brook (35-0, 24 KO): Third title defense; Eleventh fight in Sheffield (10-0, 5 KO)
Bizier (25-2, 17 KO): First title fight; Second fight outside Canada (1-0, 1 KO)
Fitzbitz says: A tip: If a guy who's beaten you twice was squashed in four rounds by the guy you're about to fight, well... let's just say it doesn't look good for you. Not to mention, the champ might be the world's best welter. Brook in 8
Last week’s picks: 0-1 (LOSS: Budler)
2016 picks record: 12-4 (75.0 percent)
Overall picks record: 744-252 (74.6 percent)
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.