By Elliot Raines: Retired 41-year-old former two-division world champion Andre Ward has reportedly been asked about stepping in as the replacement opponent for Jake Paul to face in an exhibition in December, given that Gervonta Davis is expected to be pulled out of the November 14th fight with Jake in Miami.
Tank Out, Ward In?
Mike Coppinger reports that Tank Davis is “expected to be withdrawn” from the November 14th exhibition. The magic question is why former super middleweight and light heavyweight champion Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) has been asked. Ward hasn’t fought since an eight-round knockout win over a faded 175-lb champion Sergey Kovalev on June 17, 2017.
Younger fans aren’t familiar with Ward, and they would be less compelled to subscribe to Netflix to watch a fight involving him and the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. This isn’t like Pauk bringing the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson out of retirement for a fight. Ward was never a popular fighter, even during his fighting career.
The Ward Appeal Problem
Ward’s popularity was limited to hardcore boxing fans, who were tolerable ot his punch, grab, and wrestle style. Fans who enjoyed watching wrestling liked Andre’s style, but not the ones who wanted to see all-action, with punches being thrown, and limited holding.
Jake would be better off bringing back a different retired mothballed relic back out of retirement if he wants to create interest for his rescheduled exhibition match in November. Asking one of these retired fighters would be more interesting:
Why Not GGG or Loma?
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Kostya Tszyu
- Carl Froch
- Joe Calzaghe
If Jake Paul is going to bring an older fighter out of retirement, he should pick someone who was popular and has an entertaining style. Andre Ward was neither of those things during his career.
Elliot Raines has covered British and European boxing since 2010. Known for his sharp pen and low tolerance for hype, Raines dissects the sport’s politics, promoters, and paper champions with dry precision.
