By James Le Blanc: Despite Floyd Mayweather’s distasteful comments on Andre Ward’s nickname and his inability to fill seats, Andre sits at #2 P4P and arguably #1 as the only American Champion to have captured the Gold in the 2004 Olympics and come out blemish free from the Super Six World Boxing Classic hosted by Showtime that had the top Super middle weights in the world participating.
While Ward has beat the likes of Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, and Chad Dawson via KO in 2012 he is still criticized by some for not being that brash stand out personality that can draw the crowds to watch.
Boxing fans know who Andre Ward is, but the casual fan does not. But that can change if the feared Ward can land some big name bouts in the near future.
It’s unfortunate that the first thing Bernard Hopkins does after defeating Tavoris Cloud, taking his belt, and making history in the process is run to the side and tell Ward that all the money in the world would not get him to fight Ward. While Bernard is not open to fighting Ward, this is not the case for fight fans or Ward who is completely open to taking on the challenge of fighting an extremely crafty veteran that has been embarrassing young guns for years. I personally like this “passing of the torch” fight, but it’s something that may not happen unless the demand for it increases. As Ward awaits his previously defeated foes in Kessler and Froch to face each other in hopes to get a rematch with Ward, we are looking to see what Ward can do that he has not already done.
How about a top match up with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. who has been draining down to the middle weight for a while now with huge difficulty in doing so? Some call Chavez a light heavyweight fighting at middle weight which is an advantage that a lot of boxers have become accustomed to which involves draining down and re-hydrating to a more comfortable weight the night of the fight. Chavez could easily fight at Super middle weight and if it were against Ward the promotion alone for this fight could send Andre Ward into superstardom who I think wins this fight also.
Kelly Pavlik decided to retire instead of wait for Andre Ward to recover from shoulder surgery prior to their showdown that was scheduled for earlier this year. That fight can help Wards popularity and is another one that I feel could happen if the right circumstances draw Pavlik back to boxing. I mean when is the last time a boxer really retired? When is the last time a boxer said he was retired and we believed him?
Recently Ward has demonstrated the ability to make an exciting fight by sitting on his punches and taking out Chad Dawson. I feel he can do the same with all the fighters previously mentioned. With Ward back in the gym I’m looking forward to seeing his return to the ring this fall or as early as this summer.
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