By: Sean Crose
To the surprise of many legendary ex super middleweight King Andre Ward has expressed interest in possibly fighting none other than Anthony Joshua. Ward retired years ago undefeated but is regarded as being one of the best, if not the best, super middleweight champions in all of boxing history. Joshua, of course is a heavyweight who is still active, though many see his career as being in decline. Even if he’s no longer at his very best, however, there seems something quite strange about a former 168 pounder facing a 200 plus pound mass of muscle like Joshua. If Joshua was a horrible fighter, then sure Ward might have a chance, even coming out of retirement. As things stand though…
“I get asked on a day-to-day basis,” Joshua said on social media Monday, ‘do you miss boxing, and if you came back who would you fight? Most days I don’t miss it. I’m very content doing what I’m doing with life right now. Who would you fight? That’s the problem. There’s a lot of names out there but there’s not a lot of names that make sense, but it’s one name that I brought up before that when you say that name, I could see myself fighting him. Present day. Today.”
And that man is none other than former world heavyweight multitilist Joshua.
“If the business was right,” Ward continued, “and everything was right on that front, me and Anthony Joshua, that’s a fight that I would take at Wembley Stadium. It’s a dangerous fight for my legacy, it’s a dangerous fight across the board, but that’s a fight that would get me in the gym and get me in the mindset that I need to get in to go to war. It’s Anthony Joshua, and I know he’s getting ready to fight Jake Paul, but I’m talking about a real fight, for legacy.”
One can’t help but feel that this kind of talk is a direct result of Terence Crawford’s getting into the ring with Canelo Alvarez next month. It also, let’s face. It, has more than a bit to do with boxing becoming a sport of novelty acts (many involving Jake Paul). Andre Ward, though, has been one of the best fighters of the past two decades. When he speaks, people should listen, even if they don’t like the idea he may be focusing on or rather considering at the moment.
