Boxing: Pound For Pound King, Ward Hangs Gloves

 

Reigning pound for pound king Andre Ward has announced his retirement from boxing on his website and social media pages. Ward writes, “I want to be clear – I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there.”

He also notes, “As I walk away from the sport of boxing today, I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it. We did it.”

Boxing Africa reports that Ward retires with a sparkling record of 32-0, 16 KO’s and as the WBA, IBF, & WBO World light heavyweight champion. His career is littered with accolades, starting with the 2004 Olympic Games, where he won a gold medal for the United States. Ward would go on to capture the super middleweight crown, winning the acclaimed “Super Six” tournament by defeating Carl Froch in the final to unify the WBC & WBA 168lb. titles. Other notable wins at 168 include Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Chad Dawson.

After promotional issues kept him inactive for long periods, Ward returned to the ring in 2015. After defeating Sullivan Barrera in March 2016, “S.O.G.” challenged light heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev. He rose from a second round knockdown to seize control of the fight and eke out a unanimous decision by one point on each of the three cards.

The controversial outcome called for a rematch and Ward complied. He and Kovalev met again in June. This time, Ward left no doubts, scoring an 8th round TKO to retain his unified 175lb. titles. In those two victories, Ward made upwards of $11 million.

Ward leaves behind an excellent boxing resume and a stellar one outside the ring as a man who carried himself with respect, showed respect to the sport and exuded confidence and intelligence in and out of the ring.