Unbeaten champ Ward surprisingly opts to retire at 33
Days after his claim as boxing’s pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter became a reality, Oakland’s light-heavyweight world champion Andre Ward stunningly announced his retirement Thursday at age 33.
Ward (32-0, 16 knockouts) had a defining eighth-round technical knockout of Russia’s Sergey Kovalev in June, when he defended his World Boxing Assn., International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization belts after dealing then Kovalev his first loss by narrow decision in November 2016.
When unbeaten three-belt champion Gennady Golovkin suffered the first blemish on his record by fighting to a Saturday night draw against Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, Ward’s step up to undisputed No. 1 was clinched.
But in a statement headlined, “Mission Accomplished,” Ward said, “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.
“If I cannot give my family, my team and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting.”
The last U.S. Olympic boxing champion, when he won gold as a light-heavyweight in 2004, thanked boxing: “You’ve humbled me. You’ve promoted me. I’ve sacrificed a lot for you, but you’ve given me more than I ever thought possible. You gave me a platform, made me a champion and helped me provide for my family. … As I walk away … I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it.”
Ward serves as a boxing analyst on HBO and ESPN, which recently announced extensive plans to broadcast fights in a four-year deal with promoter Top Rank.
Some speculate in the industry that Ward retired as a route to split with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, gaining time to bulk up as a heavyweight for richer purses and join Top Rank.
Top Rank’s veteran chairman Bob Arum, who has long coveted Ward, does not think it’s a move to leave Roc Nation. Asked if he believed Ward is done fighting, Arum said, “Yes, he is. Good for him.”
Another powerful boxing official said Ward expressed “peace and satisfaction” with what he’s accomplished and in his decision to exit.
Ward declined interview requests, thanking reporters for coverage of his career.
Although blessed with incredible skill, he struggled to connect with a mainstream audience.
His second Kovalev fight generated just 155,000 payper-view buys (while Golovkin-Alvarez is expected to have done around 1.2 million).
After being promoted from his Olympic days by late San Fernando Valley promoter Dan Goossen, Ward and his manager James Prince sued to break the contract, then ultimately settled after fighting just once between November 2013 and March 2016.
Kovalev, with no love lost for Ward, said his rival’s exit is “good for boxing … if it’s true, [because] it makes interesting fights for great fighters … in our division.”