"I'm trying to get this fight with Kelly Pavlik done. I don't know if they really want the fight as bad as they said they do. Time will tell, so I think this week is going to be an interesting week in terms of if this gets done or not...I think it's close. I mean, obviously when you're talking business, there's money involved and different things like that, you know. Sometimes you hit a stalemate. I think the fight can be done, you know. If not, then we're going to move on and go to another option and put our heads together and come up with something, but that's the fight that they want, that's the fight that we want, HBO's on board with it, so I think the fight should be done," stated undefeated super middleweight king Andre Ward, who made a surprise visit to the FightHype Radio show this week to discuss a potential clash with former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. Check out what else he had to say!
On fighting Kelly Pavlik...
I gotta stay ready, man, you know. I don't have a date yet, but I'm preparing like I have a date. Obviously I've been laying low lately, having been doing any interviews as I'm trying to get this fight with Kelly Pavlik done. I don't know if they really want the fight as bad as they said they do. Time will tell, so I think this week is going to be an interesting week in terms of if this gets done or not.
On how the notion of a Kelly Pavlik fight came about...
I think it happened like this. I mean, Kelly Pavlik obviously has been on a comeback for the last couple of years. He's no longer a middleweight. He's a super middleweight, a full blown super middleweight, and I've fought a lot of the top guys. I pretty much fought everybody at the top 10 the past 2, 2 1/2 years, so I think, you know, Kelly Pavlik was the next best guy in line. I mean, everybody else either has a fight or wasn't available or a fight couldn't get done. So I think Pavlik, being that he's won, you know, a couple of fights on his comeback; yeah, he hasn't fought an A-level guy lately, but he's been winning, and he's in position, and he's been positioning himself to fight for a title shot. Now he's getting his opportunity if the fight can get done.
On how close the fight is to being done...
I think it's close. I mean, obviously when you're talking business, there's money involved and different things like that, you know. Sometimes you hit a stalemate. I think the fight can be done, you know. If not, then we're going to move on and go to another option and put our heads together and come up with something, but that's the fight that they want, that's the fight that we want, HBO's on board with it, so I think the fight should be done.
On what type of challenge Kelly Pavlik presents...
I always say I don't know what type of problems somebody is going to present until we get in the ring. You know, I can't say, but Pavlik is a tall, rangy guy, he's got a good punch, and, you know, he's only lost to two fighters, two of the best, Sergio Martinez and Bernard Hopkins, the former middleweight champion of the world, so it's not like Pavlik has been on an 18-month hiatus or layoff. The guy's been fighting and he's been kind of buying his time, positioning himself for a title shot at 168 pounds, and where my career is right now, not really having a lot of options, and Kelly, once again, having won a couple of tune-up fights, you know, here we are. So I'm going to prepare like I do every fight. It's not a cliche to me. It's the way I live. It's the way I do my business. I'm going to be in tip-top shape, 100% mentally ready, and I know he's going to be ready too. I think it's going to be a great fight.
This is the necessary fight while we're waiting for the right dancing partner. With that being said Ben, Kelly Pavlik, in my mind, he's revived, he's got a new coach, he's got a new scenery down in Oxnard, and the man is coming to win. That's the bottom line.
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