why i think ward really retired

[strykr619]

I guess he's feelings are hurt that some D level boxer like Connor McGregor made more money in one boxing match than he did his entire career

TBH I can see this as a rationale, I would be angry as well, considering the legal battle he had to go thru to get out of his contract it hurt his ability to fight, then to have an MMA fighter come in and with sheer **** talking (to the level that Ric Flair would be proud) and to make more cash in one fight then he did in his whole career....

I would retire and invest what i made also.

[jdp28tx]

TBH I can see this as a rationale, I would be angry as well, considering the legal battle he had to go thru to get out of his contract it hurt his ability to fight, then to have an MMA fighter come in and with sheer **** talking (to the level that Ric Flair would be proud) and to make more cash in one fight then he did in his whole career....

I would retire and invest what i made also.

The problem here is he was wrong legally and ethically when he sued his promoter. The courts ruled against him every time. So he was not some lowly fighter being taken advantage of by his promoter, quite the opposite.

[Mequetrefe]

Ward got way overpaid for the Kovalev fights, $5M and $6.5M. He was guaranteed more for the 2nd Kovalev fight than Canelo was guaranteed for the Golovkin fight. Take a second to process that.

I don't think getting paid $1M to fight the likes of Beterbiev, Gvozdyk, etc. was very appealing to him. I don't doubt that he'd come back if he was offered another $6.5M though.

On a side note here's the thing, if you're a fighter that should be your full-time job so you have to take extra care of your body. Yes its hard to workout, spar etc but also why do you as a professional athlete let your body get out of shape then beat it up to lose the weight etc ect I dont get it. You are making life way difficult for yourself. Now talking about purses, the problem is that fighters are looking up to Floyd Mayweather type of purses because they have a belt and that doesn't come overnight. You have to produce good results and entertain and Ward was missing the entertainment factor. Now a 1-2 million dollar purse per fight is not bad at all against good opposition if u wanna make more money then fight more often. You cant expect to be paid 5 million to fight say Beterbiev because he dont have a big name therefore he doesn't bring that much money to the table.

[Pigeons]

On a side note here's the thing, if you're a fighter that should be your full-time job so you have to take extra care of your body. Yes its hard to workout, spar etc but also why do you as a professional athlete let your body get out of shape then beat it up to lose the weight etc ect I dont get it. You are making life way difficult for yourself. Now talking about purses, the problem is that fighters are looking up to Floyd Mayweather type of purses because they have a belt and that doesn't come overnight. You have to produce good results and entertain and Ward was missing the entertainment factor. Now a 1-2 million dollar purse per fight is not bad at all against good opposition if u wanna make more money then fight more often. You cant expect to be paid 5 million to fight say Beterbiev because he dont have a big name therefore he doesn't bring that much money to the table.

I agree. This is where Ward's ego comes into play as well IMO. I don't think he's the type of guy that is able to accept $1M after making $5M+ in back-to-back fights. That's why he made such a big deal about making more money for the Kovalev rematch even though their first fight was a financial disaster. Remember he threatened retirement back then too.

Then there's the PPV angle. Before the first Kovalev fight he was talking about being ready to be a PPV fighter, that it was a natural progression in a fighter's career. It's as if he didn't even realize he was not a PPV-type fighter. Would his ego have allowed him to go from back-to-back PPV headliners to regular HBO or ESPN cards?

I like Ward. He's one of my favorite fighters. But one area that his haters have nailed IMO is his ego. That "holier than thou" attitude. He's the type of guy at a job that would randomly lash out and say "I don't have to do that anymore! I've been here for 3 years!" That's why you saw him talking about fights like Bellew and Joshua. Fights that would have gotten him closer to that $5M purse and fights that would have been on PPV at least in the UK. He didn't want the grind of cleaning out another division. "He had already done that before." He thought he was better and more expensive than having to face the likes of Beterbiev, Gvozdyk, Jack/Bivol, Stevenson, etc. He just wanted to keep getting paid because in his mind he deserved it. When he saw that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, his lack of desire to keep fighting ended his career.

Just my $0.02.

[CatchAndShoot]

Ward got way overpaid for the Kovalev fights, $5M and $6.5M. He was guaranteed more for the 2nd Kovalev fight than Canelo was guaranteed for the Golovkin fight. Take a second to process that.

I don't think getting paid $1M to fight the likes of Beterbiev, Gvozdyk, etc. was very appealing to him. I don't doubt that he'd come back if he was offered another $6.5M though.

Not at all, if you're an actual boxing fan, and don't care about who has to pay him that money. Kovalev was the legit #1 contender, or the "champion" at that weight class, and you can say they both dominated that division, besides having fought Stevenson (which is completely laughable that a few fans actually think him and Kov ducked him lol), and they both fought each other in their primes, and at their respective weight classes.

Other than Crawford, I can't think of another fighter that's done that. And these were 2 well known, and the highest regarded fighters, so of course they both earned that pay.

[-PBP-]

LOL. Whatever. Ward retired because he can.

[club fighter]

After reading all the replies (some of them were very insightful & educational) and some further reading around the web, this is what I come away with.

Unless he pulls a Mayweather and comes back to make another good payday, it is all about the money, *just not only the concept of fighting for less $$$* than the Kov matches against fighters that won't attract that kind of money. (.....and possibly beat him)

I feel it's the "undefeated" moniker that after retirement should get him more opportunities for that alone in fight commentary, etc.

I still feel a unification bout with Stevenson or a bout with Bellew (after Bellew/Haye II), if marketed correctly would have sold well.

Going out like Mayweather & Marciano I feel is his main motivation. For marketing reasons and ego.