Andre Ward wants the #1 P4P spot now that Mayweather is gone

By Boxing News - 09/14/2015 - Comments

ward44444By Tim Fletcher: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) says he’s interested in going after the top No.1 pound-for-pound spot in the sport now that Floyd Mayweather Jr., the current No.1 P4P fighter is retiring after 19 years as a pro. Ward, 31, thinks he can work his way to the No.1 spot in time.

Ward is currently not ranked in the top 10 in Ring Magazine’s P4P rankings. Ward was previously ranked near the top, but after he missed close to two years of activity from the ring, he was taken out of the top 10.

It’s going to be very difficult for Ward to take the No.1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings because there are arguably more exciting fighters out there like Roman Gonzalez, currently ranked #1 beneath Mayweather, and #3 Gennady Golovkin. He’s knocked out every opponent he’s faced since 2008.

Ward isn’t a big knockout fighter, so it’s going to be next for him to try and make up for lost time to try and match Golovkin. To be the top #1 P4P fighter you’ve got be exciting and you’ve to be active.

You can make a strong argument that Ward has neither of those things in his favor. Ward is talented enough to be a top 10 P4P fighter, but I just don’t know that he’s good enough to surpass the likes of Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez. Those fighters are pretty special.

Ward finally fought last June in stopping 2nd tier fighter Paul Smith in the 9th round. There’s talk of Ward fighting on the undercard of the November 21st HBO pay-per-view card headlined by WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ward says he should find out by next week when and who he’ll be facing next. Ward says his management are working on a big fight for him. It’s unclear who the opponent will be, but it likely won’t be IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, because he’s targeting the Cotto-Canelo winner.

“I’m definitely eyeing that top spot. If I wasn’t I think I’d be doing myself a disservice, man,” Ward said told fighthype.com. “I feel I’ve got a lot of years left in me and I want that top spot – but I’ve got to earn it. I don’t want to just be the guy who’s next. I want to show you I’m next, though I’m established. I’ve been in this game 10 years. I’m a young veteran,” Ward said.

Instead of focusing on the P4P top spot, Ward should be looking to fight three to four times per year against the best possible opponent. He needs to fight someone like IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev or one of the other top light heavyweights in the division.

Ward has fought only once in 2015. He needs to fight at least twice this year.
Ward didn’t look that great in his last fight against Paul Smith. He didn’t have the explosive power that boxing fans like to see in P4P fighters, and he appeared to get hurt by one of Smith’s big shots.



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