Ward’s chasing respect but his heavyweight bid defies logic
Roger, 36, in his 30th Major final, going for his 20th trophy to show off to his pals
I’M NOT a big fan of comebacks, even less so when the returning hero is an all-time great who risks taking the shine of his glittering reputation.
I assume Andre Ward does not need the cash. It is kudos he is chasing, the kind Roy Jones Jnr 15 years ago accrued when he stepped up from light-heavy to challenge John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight crown. Fate was kind in placing before Jones a modest champion who was physically underwhelming and slow, ie right time, right place, right man.
Jones, who was the same age then as Ward is now – 33 – and unbeaten, weighed only 193lbs, giving away more than two stones, but was just too quick for Ruiz.
Ward is walking about at 199lbs, so you can see how his mind is working.
But the signature attributes that made him a standout super-middleweight, his speed and movement, were diluted at light-heavyweight, especially after his time-out between 2013 and 2015.
In the showdowns with Sergey Kovalev (above), Ward relied more on his nous and experience than hand speed and dexterity, frequently slipping, holding and frustrating ‘The Krusher.’
It could be that Ward’s heavyweight tease is just that. There is always intrigue around this kind of development and were he to name the date against a heavyweight opponent it would create buzz. But as we saw with Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, fascination soon fizzles if the fighters are not well matched.
It is hard to see how Ward could prosper against an Anthony Joshua or a Deontay Wilder. They are just too big.
And if it is not against a world champion, then what would be the point?
There are plenty of examples in boxing’s distant past of fighters taking on bigger men in title fights, but that was largely about making money.
Unless I’m missing something, Ward does not have that excuse. He was an exceptional super-middleweight and was relatively untroubled against Kovalev, a brilliantly destructive light-heavyweight.
But that was down to his amazing boxing IQ, not his trademark qualities that made him such a remarkable world champion at 168lbs.
If Ward is to come back then cruiserweight would make more sense.
But this, it seems, isn’t about logic, it’s about an ex-champ missing the buzz of the big show, and forgetting how much pain and sacrifice it takes to get there.
Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
@CyclonePromo Most Grand Slam finals Roger Federer ........ 30 Rafael Nadal ........... 23 Novak Djokovic ....... 21 Ivan Lendl ................ 19 Pete Sampras .......... 18 Oldest men to reach Australian Open final Ken Rosewall 37 years, 62 days 1972 Mal Anderson 36 years, 306 days 1972 Roger Federer 36 years, 173 days 2018
ROGER FEDERER bids to win his 20th grand slam title tomorrow and the chance to show off more silverware to his friends.
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