Andre Ward, S.O.G. Somebody in the car recognized me and opened the door and Roy was inside. Jones, speaking from his home in Pensacola, Florida, said he was honored to be one of Wards role models. Every single time. Standing shirtless in Superman emblazoned trunks, Dave was sneering at Ward. . [54] Roc Nation did reach out to HBO, where Ward had worked as an analyst previously, but upon hearing his opponent, they passed on the opportunity to showcase Ward's long-awaited return. Whether that be the body jab, left hook to the liver, the right to the body, or short sharp shots on the inside. Brin-Jonathan Butler has had his work published in ESPN The Magazine, Esquire, Harper's, The Paris Review, Salon, and Vice. Hes a man. For example for the first knockdown. Now in terms of using the Philly shell, Ward was more inclined to use the shoulder roll movement while also moving with his feet backward before resetting himself. A lot of inner-city kids dont have their father. On May 16, 2009, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Ward defeated former prospect Edison Miranda by unanimous decision. Thats a dangerous place to be. I have respect for him." The fight took place on May 14, 2011, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. I want to fight the best. The American would always invest in these shots against the majority of the fighters he fought. With the biggest bout of his career looming, he opens up about his family and his faith. Get in here!, See? Ward said and laughed. I know, I know, were all supposed to hate Andre Ward. When the pandemic forced court closures, Ward decided to make the leap to full-time . Ducktail on the back. Now probably one of the harder and more complex parts of Wards game was his inside fighting ability. As Ward finished his workout, he offered to drive me around Oakland to the many homes where he lived growing up. Once you have your opponent tired or even hurt, that is when you have the opportunity to unleash a strong powerful combination of punches. He claimed that it was done to make him look "vulnerable and expose him with weight loss. It wasnt too often you would see ward stand toe to toe in this stance. Even to use it to create counter-punching opportunities. I remember once she stabbed him. It was my mother who was gone. [27] Ward started out slow with Abraham, trying to find a way to penetrate his tight defense. Win, lose or draw, however, you wont see the guy peacocking around after the fight (and, in fairness, the same can most likely be said for Kovalev, who is basically too much of an all-around bad ass to engage in such silliness). Andre Ward, left, punches Paul Smith during a cruiserweight boxing match in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, June 20, 2015. Ward noted extreme pain in the sixth round of the fight as well as one week prior, though the initial X-ray came back clear. Dawson started his career at super middleweight, but hadn't fought at the weight since February 2006. Its in a cul-de-sac on a quiet, narrow street. After Kovalev, some will give me my just due, others will say I just outboxed him. He would very much use his lead hand almost like he was fencing with it in three ways: For defence, he would use the jab as I mentioned as a way to create distance between himself and the opponent. [64] According to Ward, he wasn't moving up in weight for the money, but rather daring to be great. Ward ended his career undefeated with 32 wins, 16 of which came inside the distance. Dad was picking me up for a run like he always did. Of course not. Just off Mission Boulevard in Hayward, a faded mural of Ward in his Olympic uniform is spray-painted on the side of the U.S. Karate and Boxing Gym where Hunter was working at the time. He recalled Hunter telling him, I dont know who you rolling with, but I know this, Gods got his hand on you, son. Tyson plunged into economic and existential free fall. Every day, Ward said. Even before Ward hit his teens, Hunter teased that hed always be a one-woman guy. Bika landed 201 of his 612 punches (33%), but Ward was more precise with his shots, landing 235 of 398 (59%). I could not have done this without you." In 2002, he won the Under 19 National Championship and was also a two time U.S. National Champion in 2001 and 2003 at middleweight. Miranda couldn't stay up with Ward's versatility around the ring. [103][104], On August 23, 2017, Ward announced that his contract with HBO had expired, making him a free agent. Everyone likes flash. Much like Joe Louis, he would do it while fencing with his jab, before unleashing his huge power shots. I easily could have been one of those guys people say, He could have been something. I remember the day he died very clearly. Youre left asking, Who am I? . [84], The fight reported to have done 160,000 buys on HBO PPV. Sergey Kovalev, he's a great champion." Abraham, a former middleweight titleholder, had moved up in weight to join the Super Six tournament. Staying in control, its abundantly apparent, is one of the fundamental obsessions of his life. I'm a boxing analyst, amateur boxer, and blogger looking to pass on my boxing experiences and passion to anyone looking to learn or find out more about the sport of boxing. No fighter today more skillfully solves boxings best crosswords in blood than Ward, who is 29-0 as a professional with 15 knockouts. Kovalev said the fight could have continued, "I don't know. Ward defended his WBA and Ring titles against unbeaten Edwin Rodrguez in Ontario, California in November 2013 with a wide unanimous decision. As I mentioned earlier he would keep his head usually off centre line to his right, but would also sometimes change the level he would throw the punch. Whether that be to keep at range from a power puncher and not let them be able to get off their shots to frustrate them. Grant Park Counseling Group. Ward trains at Virgil Hunters Hayward, California, gym, next to the San Mateo Bridge. [36], The World Boxing Council Board of Governors voted to make Ward "Champion in Recess" due to a broken hand Ward had sustained during the Super Six tournament. I wanted to not care about anything. Ward claimed a shoulder injury that required surgery was the reason for his inactivity, but the WBC claimed that Ward had not provided any medical evidence or even given them a rough availability date. He shows up in a white Porsche a little after tipoff with his wife, Tiffany. Andre Ward of the US celebrates after defeating Arthur Abraham of Germany during their WBA Super middleweight Championship bout at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California on May 14, 2011. This pattern was repeated for many years over the course of Wards adolescence. In that two- or three-year span I could have lost it all. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Abraham hurt Ward a couple of times in the final round, but it wasn't enough to finish Ward, who had dominated the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision. Ward showed he had an inside game as well as an outside game. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'myboxinglife_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-myboxinglife_com-banner-1-0'); Ward very much reminds me of a modern but careful version of Joe Louis. Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. Daves father was beaming with approval. [55][56] Ward won via TKO in the 9th round. Muhammad Ali, after all, stood for something. He wasnt looking too hot, but I was sure hed figure it out. In the later rounds, Ward seemed to take his foot off the gas, leaving Froch to win a couple rounds near the end of the fight, though they were close and fairly competitive rounds. "[29], Advancing to the final of the Super Six, Ward fought WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) in front of 5,626 at Boardwalk Hall on December 17, 2011. ESPN had it 118110 in favor of Ward. on March 26, 2016, on HBO. [83] CompuBox stats showed that Kovalev landed more punches, 126 of 474 punches; Ward landed 116 out of 337 thrown Miranda said of Ward in the post fight, "I thought it was going to be easier, but it was tougher than I was expected. But Ill be long gone by then, he said and grinned. The scores were 116112, 119109, and 119109 for Ward. Im trying to shake those ghosts.. But he went on to fight 119 times in all as an amateur and lost only four more bouts. He would touch with Dawson before instead quickly changing the route of attack by throwing a right to the body before going up top again. Now another big part of Wards game is of course his defense and counter punching. But he moved up to light heavyweight last year so he could face Kovalev, a fearsome puncher, who is 30-0-1 with 26 knockouts and in 2011 beat an opponent so badly that he died shortly after the bout. Ward reiterated how the events of the evening unfolded, "I got off the canvas against the hardest puncher in the division and smiled. Manage Settings Yellow Tee $ 38 USD $ 48 USD. His African-American mother was rarely present, battling an addiction to crack cocaine and living on the streets of San Francisco for most of 20 years. In boxings family of messy, dark characters, Ward is a virtual unknown, despite his success. Yet others will actually be happy to see a well known individual acting over the age of seventeen. Ward hit Williams with jabs and straight left hands almost at will, opening a bad cut over Williams' left eye in the process. Give us videos of Floyd throwing money at a bunch of twerking strippers. At this point, Ward's record was 14 wins, no losses. (404) 390-4075. I thought he was taking sleeping pills. [12] Kessler's WBA super-middleweight championship was also at stake. Yet one face stood out. Ward wants to cheer on his friend Curry. In the short term, theyre only one punch away from permanent injury or death. He was ready to step up to his biggest challenge against big American puncher Allan Green (25-1, 18 KOs), with the fight scheduled to take place on February 2, 2008, on HBO. Ward remembered seeing his father retire to his room after work and transform himself into a glassy-eyed, entirely different person. Ward had to adjust his game plan as he was unable to fight on the inside. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. It hurt me so bad my dad was taken like that. Suite 2. Most opponents could really not compete with Ward when they were in this situation. In the fight he would fence with Dawsons southpaw jab, with his own, however, he would use it to condition the southpaw into a rhythm over time by touching w with him. Retained WBA (Super) super middleweight title. I was just teetering. Arthur is strong, and he's a hard hitter, [but] we showed that we can win in a way other than our original game plan [] "I wish the ref had let me fight on the inside, because that's what I had planned for. Andre Ward was created with an Irish American father along with an African-American mother. 15 knockouts these shots against the majority of the fighters he fought at.! And our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a,. 116112, 119109, and 119109 for Ward known individual acting over the age seventeen!, California, Ward decided to make the leap to full-time processed May a... 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