By Dan Ambrose: Andre Ward posted a short workout clip of doing some shadow boxing on Friday, and he’s looking sharp and ready to return to the ring.
The former two-division world champion ‘SOG’ Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) just turned 36 this month on February 23, and he looks younger and faster than the top fighters in the 168 and 175-lb division.
It’s been four years since Ward last fought in stopping then Sergey Kovalev in the eighth round in their rematch in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ward hastily retired shortly after that fight while still in the prime of his career.
Ward vs. Canelo = Massive PPV fight
As good as Ward looks now, he can make huge waves in the sport of boxing if he returns to the ring for mega-fights against Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin. The Canelo fight is easily the biggest fight out there for both fighters.
Canelo is tied up with his goal of becoming the undisputed champion at super middleweight in 2021. But if Canelo were willing to face Ward in September or December, it shouldn’t be a problem.
WBA/WBC/Ring super middleweight champion Canelo says he wants to fight four times in 2021, starting with his title defense tonight against Avi Yildirim in Miami, Florida.
Taking the fight with Ward in September would be ideal for Canelo because it would be taking place on the Mexican Independence Day holiday weekend, and there would be a lot of boxing fans tuning in.
If he’s victorious against Ward, Canelo could move his unification match against IBF 168-lb champion Caleb Plant to December. The boxing public won’t make a big deal about having to wait until December to see Canelo face Plant, as that’s not nearly as interesting a fight as Canelo-Ward. That would be huge.
If the ‘Cobra’ Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) were willing to make a comeback, that would be a huge fight between him and Ward a well.
Froch is only 43-years-old and still looks lean and not far from his old fighting shape. But with Froch, he would have to be willing to have his perfect nose potentially knocked askew once again.
Them hands still work 👀💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/XLtmAMwaeT
— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) February 27, 2021
Is Canelo up to the challenge?
With the dough that Ward can make returning to the sport, it might be difficult for him to resist coming back. The money that Ward can get fighting Canelo would likely dwarf high career-best payday against Kovalev.
It’s unclear what Canelo (54-1-2, 36 KOs) would feel about facing Ward. I mean, it shouldn’t be an issue for Canelo as long as Ward is willing to come down to 168 to make the fight happen.
Even if the fight were held at 175, Canelo should move up seven pounds to take the fight with Andre. After all, Ward hasn’t fought in four years, and he’s 36. If Canelo nervous about fighting Ward at this point, that doesn’t say much about him and his so-called pound-for-pound status.