Andre Ward’s Comeback: Fight against Anthony Joshua After an eight-year retirement is a ‘ridiculous’ idea

Sergio Mora believes it is a ‘ridiculous’ idea for 41-year-old Andre Ward to get out of the pension to fight heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. He says Ward (32-0, 16 CO’s) could be injured against the much larger two-time champion Joshua (28-4, 25 COs) after retiring eight years.

Ward is a former world champion with two divisions and has won titles at Super Middle Weight and Light Heavyweight. He retired in 2017 after stopping Sergey Kovalev. Although Ward spoke years ago to return, he was chosen not to. Now he looks more interested to return if he can get a fight against Joshua, which he called on social media last week.

Mora over Ward’s dangerous struggle

“He’s going to be like a smaller man. It’s going to be ridiculous. It’s a young man’s sport, and you can get hurt, especially if you get up to fight a giant, ‘says Sergio Mora on Chris Mannix channel, Talk about Andre Ward trying to fight a fight against Anthony Joshua.

If Ward gets the battle with Joshua, it will help cushion his retirement with the millions he would get. He could get from the sad, abandoned Dublin, California, to the more luxurious, ultra-rich neighborhood in Atherton, California. He could live well under the top crust with the big payday by quickly returning to the ring.

Ward knew that he would not have a chance to beat Joshua, especially not at 41 and that he had retired for eight years. The money would be outside this world, and easily the biggest payday of Ward’s career.

“He is still a much larger fighter on championship, and Andre Ward has been retired for eight years. I could see it if it was,” Mora said.

Ward would not have a chance to get out of pension and fight champion Jai Opetaia, or the light heavyweights Dmitri Bivol, Artur Betterbiev and David Benavidez. Choosing Joshua gives Ward an excuse to tell fans after losing. He was beaten by a heavyweight in a section in which he had never fought.

“People in box really need to think that Joshua is washed. You have Jake Paul and thought he had a chance against AJ. You have Tony Yoka, and now you have removed Andre Ward, eight years from his last fight at Light Heavyweight, and believe he has a chance against AJ, ‘says Mannix.

Ward’s return for millions

It’s not that fighters like Jake Paul, Tony Yoka and Ward consider Joshua over-the-hill. It’s more about money. Fighting Joshua means a mega-million payday that you wouldn’t fight against other guys. It is well known that AJ is approaching at the end of his career and wants to make the most money possible before retiring. It has now become his focus.

“Eight years outside the ring means something. Going to heavyweight means something. Fighting a puncher like Anthony Joshua means something. In his size that goes up to that weight class, it’s inevitably that he’s going to eat a right hand. Even against Sergey Kovalev, he ate a right hand, and he said,” says Mannix.

It would be clear that Ward would have a chance to survive more than two or three rounds in the ring with Joshua under the best possible circumstances. Ward will have to run and hold AJ. Even with the upholstery, Ward would be at risk of hitting and striking through AJ. It is not as if he would have the power to prevent the much larger Joshua from wrestling and stripping his lights with any hand.