Andre Ward says there will be a weight stipulation in place if he retires to fight against Anthony Joshua. The 41-year-old ward (32-0, 16 COs) mentions that a fight against former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua is ‘dangerous enough’ to prepare him.
Ward does not say why he targets Joshua (28-4, 25 COs) as he comes from a fifth round of knockout loss. It would make more sense for Ward to try to push his way in a fight against one of the top 15 contenders rather than focusing only on Joshua.
Hearn’s quick rejection
The bad news for Ward is that AJ’s promoter, Hearn, has already rejected the idea of this battle that happens. Hearn mentions that the struggle would not have commercial attraction. Ward has been retired for too long and hung his gloves in 2017. Even when Ward was still fighting, he wasn’t popular. You can only imagine how weak the PPV numbers would be for a fight between Joshua and Ward.
Hearn says the two fighters he wants for Joshua are Tyson Fury and Jake Paul. These are fights that will bring in big money. These are big names that still bring in a lot of PPV purchase.
“I was just honest about who I would come back if I returned,” Andre Ward told Ariel Helwani Youtube Channel about his exclamation of Anthony Joshua. “People think I can make another 175. It’s out. It was not easy to make in 2017 175. I am now 41. ‘
It doesn’t matter if Ward can’t make 175. He is not what Hearn is looking for. If Ward is looking for someone who finds dangerous who will motivate him enough to get into the gym, he must fight against Moses Itauma or Philip Hrgovic.
‘This is the type of situation that is dangerous enough to prepare you,“Ward said about Joshua.” But this is the right situation if I were to come back. As you get older, your reflexes weaken a bit, and of course I think I still have a lot left in the tank. But I don’t know. “
If Ward does not have the ambition to get into the gym unless Joshua is his opponent, what does it say about him? Where is the willingness to work and the ambition? It sounds like Ward has a combination of apathy and burnout. There are many other fighters who can fight Ward except Joshua. For him to just want a fight against AJ, he indicates that he is just looking for a big payday.
The unlikely weight stipulation
“If you are going to handle something at an older age, you want to handle more power and the size of an opponent and not skill, velocity and speed,” Ward said. “It is very different to join than to deal with power. That’s how I look at it. So we will see. Of course, “Ward said when asked if there would be weight terms for a fight with Joshua.
There is no chance that Ward would be able to negotiate a weight stipulation with the much more popular Joshua. It is not 2017 with Ward Fighting Sergey Kovalev. Joshua is out of his league in terms of popularity. In my opinion, Ward has no chance of getting a weight stipulation in place for a fight against AJ.
“For me, I don’t think the struggle (ward) is as big as some people think, especially of Andre’s team. I know that Joshua would take the fight, but I think if it sparked the numbers, it wouldn’t be entirely like them. And, when we talk about a Jake Paul battle (it’s a much bigger one), ‘said the matcher of the Jos visit.
Last updated on 09/04/2025
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