Meant GOAT LH. And yes, he would. Kovalev Beterbiev Bivol Gvozdyk That's a murderer's row of prime and elite opponents.
He got knocked down and beat by Kovalev. Deep in his soul he knows this. It's not something he thought could happen in his wildest dreams, but it did. Ward was smart enough to know when to call it a day. Imagine how his mind went running thinking about the dangers of Gvoz/Beter/Bivol.
Boy, the shoulda coulda woulda is strong in this thread. Ward ducked guys who weren't champs yet when he retired and he is the only fighter I've ever heard ducked guys in retirement. It's called retirement for a reason lol. Beating those guys at the time of his career it would have had to happen wouldn't mean nearly as much as you want it to op. Ever wanted a guy to lose so bad you gotta make up mythical scenarios to play out and he never lost? Yeah. Andre f'n Ward.