By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) admits that he’s starting to slow down as a fighter in the ring now that he’s getting older at 31-years-old. Ward, who has fought only three times in the last five years, is facing one of the best light heavyweights in the division next month in fighting unbeaten Cuban Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) on March 26 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
Ward sees himself in the same situation as Floyd Mayweather Jr. was in during the last part of his career after he moved up to the welterweight division. Mayweather didn’t/couldn’t move around the ring as he had when he was fighting at super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight.
Mayweather had to be stationary compared to earlier in his career. While Mayweather says he intentionally stood in the pocket in order to please his fans, it was clear that he was forced to do it because his old legs could not move him around as they previously had.