On the occasion of Andre Ward’s announced retirement from boxing:
Andre Ward is the type of fighter you’d want your son to be. And whether you’re a fan of the man and his legacy or not, this is not something even the most dedicated of Ward critics can deny.
He learned his craft, developing the kind of boxing IQ rarely seen these days—and he utilized this hard-earned learning to keep himself physically safe and secure, despite a level of opposition second to none over the last decade or so. Leaving the sport at 33 years of age, after a career of knowing how to execute his game at the highest of possible levels, will ensure a future not riddled with the kinds of health issues that usually plague ex-fighters.
Leaving the sport a young man, under his own terms is exactly what one would expect of a man with the character and discipline of Andre Ward.
Unfortunately, this same character and discipline have worked to rile up and ruffle the feathers of so many fans and members of the media—something which will have less and less of an impact on his professional legacy as time passes, but something which unfairly hurt his reputation while active.
In a world where many fans have an overly-romanticized notion of what a fighter should be and how one should act, Ward walked in contrast to the norm. He called media out on unfair criticism and was unafraid to stand up to the status quo of the boxing business when it clashed with his own moral compass.
But the critics and their desperate grasps at turning a hero into a villain will slowly vanish as distance is created between their own agendas and the realities of a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Ward, an Olympic gold medalist, rose to the top of a crowded super middleweight division with his underdog win in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, a feat that saw him go through Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Arthur Abraham, and Carl Froch en route to victory. Five years later, Ward would go through Sullivan Barrera and two battles with Sergey Kovalev to claim a spot atop the light heavyweight division. In the career time not spent working towards division dominance, Ward would notch high-profile wins over fighters such as Chad Dawson, Sakio Bika, Edison Miranda, and Edwin Rodriguez.
If the dedicated Ward critics missed out on this stellar career and truly old school skill set, then it’s too bad for them. In a world with fewer and fewer students of the game and diminishing patience to learn and/or even tolerate true craft in boxing, don’t expect too many more “Andre Wards” in the foreseeable future.
Ward was a modern day Ezzard Charles with a bit of Archie Moore thrown in. The confounding mix of mauling and angle-smart science is most definitely an acquired taste and one which is not immediately pleasing to casual eyes. But there was no denying that something special was going on whenever Andre Ward stepped into the ring. For those of us who love boxing and its finer stylistic aspects, Ward was the type of fighter who fueled our fascination.
And now he leaves the sport at 33, undefeated, and on his own terms. Boxing never managed to beat Andre Ward. The life-grinding gears of a sport virtually built on the destruction of old heroes, never got to taste the flesh of “S.O.G.”
If you truly love fighters for more than the immediate thrill they give you as consumers of the fight game, then Andre Ward has to be a hero to you, even more so today, after his retirement.
Good luck to Andre in whatever he chooses to do with his future.