By Radio Rahim
HBO's longtime analyst Jim Lampley was very surprised when light heavyweight king Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) announced his retirement last week.
Ward, only 33 years old, was ranked by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport.
He was easily in line for several potential paydays at light heavyweight and there was even talk of facing Tony Bellew at cruiserweight.
In the aftermath of Ward's stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev back in June, Ward's head trainer - Virgil Hunter - made a bold claim by telling reporters that his boxer could defeat reigning heavyweight kingpin Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs).
One of Ward's longtime dreams was to emulate one of his idols, Roy Jones Jr., who jumped up from light heavyweight to capture a heavyweight world title.
In several interviews, Ward expressed his interest in a future fight with Joshua and felt he was capable of outboxing the much bigger man.
Lampley confirms that Ward was indeed serious about facing Joshua and only a few short weeks ago was even discussing the tactics that he would use in that fight.
"A few weeks ago when we were working together in Carson, at the StubHub with the super flyweight tripleheader, he was the expert commentator on that [HBO] show. I was riding back and forth with him from our hotel to the arena, and he was telling me about of the fights that he would be interested in taking - and specifically telling me how he would beat Anthony Joshua in an adventure fight against a heavyweight," Lampley told BoxingScene.com.
"They were fascinating discussions and there was nothing in that content which suggested to me that he was thinking of stepping away. But, he has always been supremely his own person. I think nobody makes a decision for Andre Ward other than Andre Ward. Even Virgil Hunter, his head trainer and surrogate father, he doesn't make the call - Andre makes the call.
"When I spoke to him Wednesday night, the night before he made the announcement. He told me that in no uncertain terms that this was a personal decision based on his needs as a human being, his desire to spend more time with his family, he really wants to be the most responsible parent in the world.
"I'm pretty thrilled. I've watched Lennox Lewis do this, walk away on his own terms. Joe Calzaghe has done it. Tim Bradley may fall into that category if he can stay away. About a year and a half ago, Andre Ward said to me that the triple crown for a boxer - is to retire with your legacy, with your faculties and your finances intact. He meant it and that's what he's done."
