Andre Ward made a cryptic post on social media today, seemingly hinting at a comeback.
Ward (32-0, 16 KOs), a 40-year-old former two-division world champion, posted a video clip of his training and previous fight with Carl Froch with the caption, “I want all the smoke.” At the end of the clip, it gave the date of July 22, this Monday.
Who would fight Andre Ward?
If this comes back, it will be interesting to see who Ward faces and where Some fans on social media believe he could be one of the contenders for the upcoming fight against super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in September.
He needs a big name, especially if he wants to get back his September 14th date with the UFC, which snatched him by scheduling one of their events that day.
The winner of the Oct. 12 light heavyweight championship between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol is another option Ward could take. Fighting whoever wins that fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, could be a big payday for Ward.
It might upset David Benavidez that Ward crossed the line, but he'll get over it. This is entertainment business, and a fight involving Ward against the winner of Bivol-Beterbiev could be huge.
Ward hasn't fought in seven years since he stopped former United light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in the eighth round of their bout on June 17, 2017. Ward was just 33 years old and too young to retire at a young age.
For boxing fans who were shocked when Ward returned at the age of 40, he is one year older than 39-year-old IBF/WBC/WBO champion Artur Beterbeiv and three years older than Terence Crawford, who turns 37 on September 28.
Aside from a possible fight against Canelo, Ward has a lot of interesting matchups. A replay with Carl Froch would attract many UK fans. Froch is 47 years old but in good shape, and could be open to a chance to avenge his twelve-round unanimous decision loss in December 2011.
Ward probably envisions bigger fights than a rematch against Froch. It would be huge if Ward gets a chance to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
Most recently, Ward has been sparring with Terence Crawford, helping him get in shape for his August 3 fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israel Madrimov on the His Excellent Turki Alalshikh's Riyadh Season card on DAZN and ESPN+ PPV at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
I WANT ALL THE SMOKE 💨 pic.twitter.com/ARkIMYdTnI
– Andre SOG Ward (@andreward) July 20, 2024
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