Why is Andre Ward always lecturing other fighters?

[deanrw]

I remember after their first fight Ward said Wilder would be foolish to fight Fury a second time. Other than the financial aspect Ward was 100% correct.

[South Champion]

Andre Ward hasn't lost a fight since he was 12, he's the last American man to win an Olympic gold medal, he became a unified champion in two divisions, and despite lay offs and injuries, he retired undefeated & as the #1 P4P fighter.

He shows fighters there's a life after boxing if you leave at the right time, he's been in movies (Creed & Creed 2), hosted the Contender, and works as an analyst for ESPN.

He's also a family man that stays out of trouble.

He's a stand up guy, and when he gives lectures & advice, it doesn't feel as demeaning or critical as Floyd Mayweather's lectures and "advice."

If Andre Ward isn't in a position to lecture other fighters, then who is?

[boliodogs]

I am no Ward fan and never thought he was as good as most think he was. I thought he was an extremely dirty fighter who had over 90% of his fight in the Oakland area where he was allowed to fight dirty. I never liked his constant grabbing, clinching, wrestling and illegal holding and hitting. I know he is well respected and liked on here so to each his own. He is very intelligent and well spoken so he will always be in demand as a commentator. As a champion boxer he knows boxing and I like him better as a commentator than I did as a boxer. He does have a very high opinion of himself and tends do what you say sometimes although Bradley is much worse and not nearly as intelligent or well spoken as Ward. As for him beating Wilder or AJ he would not have any chance of beating either them in my opinion. He is too small and has no power to hurt them.

[Rip Chudd]

He gets asked these questions as part of his job as a commentator and analyst for ESPN. He’s actually very good with his insights and he is more qualified than most to give thoughts on what goes on in the ring. If you’re offended by what he has to say then that’s on you and it’s absolutely fine but many including myself enjoy hearing his take.

What he said about Wilder and his team couldn’t have been a more perfect observation.

Both AJ and Wilder ideally should not have gone ahead with direct rematches but money and politics speak a lot more loudly than they used to. Joshua was able to overcome the rematch test, there will be a lot less faith in Wilder doing the same. It’s a much bigger task.

Great post, my sentiments exactly

[pittapatta66]

i liked 'wards words'. always good to hear an opinion from someone who actually boxes and not some long-nosed weasel tribesman who got his tv gig from nepotism.

ward is one of the few guys that shoots straight through the middle with no bs and doesnt need an eccentric personality to do it (like atlas, malignaggi etc.)

[TonyGe]

He gets paid to explain why a fighter won or lost a fight. Not a fan of his as a fighter but he's a very good analyst.

[Boxing_1013]

Ward drawing the ire of Canelo fans now after his recent comments lol

I tend to agree with the OP though...fighting aside...Ward's commentary has always been a little eye-roll inducing imho...I think some of it was probably for affect, to try and generate some publicity like Floyd did, trying to get hatred as the 'co.cky undefeated black fighter.'...but for whatever reason, Ward never really caught on like Floyd did.

Ward just makes too many comments like 'you have to travel, all the greats travel' and 'Canelo picks out his opponents and had some close fights' and stuff like that...where you want to say - 'bro, you never traveled, and picked a lot of your opponents, and had some close fights too'...he just seems like he tries to sell a story about his career that isn't necessarily accurate, by anyone's estimation, like objectively not accurate.

Like after Kov-Ward 1 when Max was interviewing him, and Ward said that was the first time he had gotten dropped in his career...as Max quickly reminded him, Boone dropped him years before that...Ward looked pissed that anyone would correct him lol...yeah idk just stuff like that, can't really take the guy seriously at all.

But hey some on here seem to like his analysis apparently so there is something out there for everyone I suppose.

[Goldie]

Don’t get me wrong, Wilder got his deluded ass beat, but why is it every time a famous fighter losses nowadays we have to hear Andre Ward come in and lecture about why he lost and what he should or should not do? And in a condescending tone? He would get destroyed by Joshua or Wilder but claims he could have beat both at heavy.

Does Ward think he is an all time great? He has the smug and jealous attitude of Floyd but none of Floyd’s accomplishments. Retired like a coward and never came back. Dude is and was not as good as he thinks he is.

Ward seems to think he is on the level of a Manny Steward, Mayweather, or Holyfield.

So let’s gets this straight, you’re literally offended that a former champ art of his generation who’s also a paid boxing analyst is states his opinions publicly? You’re so offended that you feel the need to personally disrespect the man and all that?

[pittapatta66]

Andre Ward hasn't lost a fight since he was 12, he's the last American man to win an Olympic gold medal, he became a unified champion in two divisions, and despite lay offs and injuries, he retired undefeated & as the #1 P4P fighter.

He shows fighters there's a life after boxing if you leave at the right time, he's been in movies (Creed & Creed 2), hosted the Contender, and works as an analyst for ESPN.

He's also a family man that stays out of trouble.

He's a stand up guy, and when he gives lectures & advice, it doesn't feel as demeaning or critical as Floyd Mayweather's lectures and "advice."

If Andre Ward isn't in a position to lecture other fighters, then who is?

truth! ward is the man, a great role model for kids that want to get into boxing, ill take his words and 'lectures' over any of the other talking heads in the media any day

[Scopedog]

I'm kind of on both sides of the fence in this thread - on the one hand he was the p4p boss when he retired and is famous as being incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the ins and outs of fighting, to the point where I saw some commentators state he was practically a boxing nerd when he was still fighting. From that point of view his opinions counts for a lot. I still do think however that he can sometimes come off as a bit of a know-it-all and has a habit of stating his opinions like hard facts, which is annoying even when he's right. Both as a commentator and a fighter I think he has a bit of a superiority complex that's a little offputting. Compare his attitude to the commentary that guys like Emmanuel Steward and Roy Jones added to fights - no less insightful most of the time, but a lot less smug. Still, I'd rather have someone knowledgeable who comes off as smug than someone who doesn't know anything, no matter how personable they may be by comparison.