Andre Ward retires

Couldn't have said it better Serge,me & you are on the same page regarding that filthy cheat!

Will he get in the Hall of Fame?,yes!

Will he be remembered as an ATG?,definitely not!

Good riddance Ward,you won't be missed!!!

 

He was basically retired the last 5 years until losing to Kov in the first one and then blasting his sack off in the second.

I guess he'll be back in the ring sometime in 2019 when his paltry "ATG" money runs out.

Won't miss him if he never comes back.

 

I never liked Andre Ward as a person and the S.O.G talk gives me a headache. Further he had some problematic characteristics as a fighter, especially the use of excessive clinching and headbutts. Using such dirty tactics isn't a very sympathetic trait, however ultimately I feel these matters should be eliminated by the respective referees (Im looking at you Jack Reiss, in particular...).

In the end I have appreciated a great number of his performances and even though he is not exactly my blueprint of the most likeable/exciting/whatever fighter I respect this ability to defeat the opposition - and the level of opposition in the later stage of his career. Like him or not, I don't see any current fighters beating him.

Due to the above mentioned drawbacks I suppose his lack of success is not entirely unfair (he also had issues with injuries), but I do think he deserved a bit more respect from the boxing community in general.

Godspeed to him

 

Great fighter who bent rules. He won't be missed.

 

He made enough money, good for him.

 

Contracts up and no immediately appealing options, so he won't be fighting any time soon anyway. He's not retiring. He's announcing a retirement. So his next fight can be promoted as his comeback fight.

Mayweather did it after Hatton. This is the perfect time for Ward to do it. See what develops in his absence, then come back in a year and a half, two years and get paid.

 

your nuts are safe now

 

In a career filled with awful business decisions, he's finally made a good one here.

 

I'm not surprised, I'm not saying he would have lost but there were some potentially hard fights around the corner, so before the boxing public start demanding them just retire with the "0" intact and legacy sealed.

Also I'm not surprised because the fact Buglioni was talked about as an opponent tells me all I need to know about his state of mind and genuine desire recently.

 

I've always been a fan of Ward since his amateur days, less in recent years though.

I think he's been the top pfp guy the last couple years and I was really interested in seeing how he was going to deal with some of the newer faces at 175-Gvozdyk, Beterbiev, and Bivol.

Even though I would have liked to have seen him stick around another year or two and take on those new guys I can't say I'm going to miss him a lot if he does stay retired.

Somethings about him have made it harder to be a fan of his the past couple years so I'm fine if he stays retires or even if he comes back.

 

This thread maybe the best example of how many on this site DKSAB. Not my favourite fighter but obviously ATG HOF career and 1 of the smartest to ever do it, getting out before ever suffering any serious damage. The 1st Kovalev fight being the only time he was ever close to losing, moving up multiple divisions and beating the best at both amateur and pro level.

 

Ward ducking Stevenson

 

That's the way all the Greats should do it....Hope he stay's retired and enjoys a Normal Life...