Andre Ward

Wikipedia:

Andre Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American professional boxer and the current WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring Super Middleweight Champion.

Currently, Ward is rated among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. He is rated #6, #6 and #5 by Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated and The Ring respectively. Ward was a Gold Medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Ward was named Ring Magazine fighter of the year in 2011.

Early life

Andre was born to Frank Ward, an American of Irish descent, and Madeline Arvie Taylor, an African American. His father inspired him by regaling him with stories of hard fought battles and triumphant victories. Given the choice to fight or pursue other sports, the young Andre chose boxing and has poured his mind, body and soul into the sport & became a world champion.

Ward grew up in the East Bay in the Fairview neighborhood of Hayward, in California, where he attended Fairview Elementary, Bret Harte Junior High School and Hayward High School. At Hayward High he starred as a running back and safety on the football team. When he turned 17 he became a close friend to boxer Andre Dirrell.

Amateur career

Ward started boxing in 1994 and had a record of 115–5 as an amateur. From 1998 to 2004 he did not lose a single match. In 2002, he won the Under 19 National Championship and was also a two time U.S. National Champion in 2001 and 2003 at Middleweight.

Amateur Highlights

His results were:

Professional career

Ward made his pro debut on December 18, 2004 by scoring a second round TKO over Chris Molina. On February 5, 2005 Ward fought in his second pro fight against Kenny Kost and won a unanimous decision. Ward defeated Roy Ashworth on April 7, 2005 by disqualification, after Ashworth committed numerous fouls on Ward.

Ward won his next three fights, all by knockout, before going up against Darnell Boone on November 19, 2005. Ward was knocked down for the first time in his career in round four. Despite the knockdown, Ward went on to win by unanimous decision.

After the fight with Boone, Ward went on to win his next six fights, including TKO victories over undefeated Andy Kolle and Francisco Diaz. On November 16, 2007 Ward beat undefeated Roger Cantrell by fifth round TKO in Saint Lucia.

On March 20, 2008, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, Ward defeated Rubin Williams by seventh round TKO.

Ward faced Jerson Ravelo on June 20, 2008, in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, for the vacant regional NABO super middleweight title and won a a TKO victory in the eighth round.

On May 16, 2009, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Ward defeated Edison Miranda by unanimous decision. The scores were 116–112, 119–109, 119–109 for Ward.

On September 12, 2009, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, Ward defeated Shelby Pudwill by TKO in the 3rd round.

Super Six

Ward vs. Kessler

Andre Ward defeated Mikkel Kessler on November 21, 2009 for the WBA Super Middleweight Championship in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Kessler was the strong favorite going into Showtime's Super Six tournament. Ward captured the WBA Super Middleweight title with an 11-round technical decision over Denmark’s Kessler in their Group Stage 1 bout. The fight was stopped in round 11 due to cuts on Kessler's face caused by what was deemed unintentional headbutts by Ward. The fight went to the scorecards and Ward was far ahead with scores of 98–92, 98–92 and 97–93 at the time of the stoppage.

Ward vs. Green

In January 2010 Jermain Taylor announced his exit from Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. Ring Top 10 ranked Super Middleweight Allan Green was selected as his replacement and challenged Andre Ward on June 19. Ward, defending the WBA Super Middleweight title, Ward defeated Green by unanimous decision on June 19, 2010.

Ward vs. Bika

Ward was exempt from the final preliminary fight in the Super Six because he had already secured a number one position in the elimination rounds and his designated opponent (Andre Dirrell) had dropped out of the tournament. Instead, Ward successfully defended his WBA Super Middleweight title, unanimously outpointing another Top 10 ranked Super Middleweight, Sakio Bika, at Oracle Arena on Saturday night. Ward won all 12 rounds on one judge's scorecard and was ahead 118–110 on the other two.

Ward vs. Abraham

Ward's next title defense came against Top 10 ranked Super Middleweight Arthur Abraham on May 14, 2011 in Carson, California. Ward won a unanimous decision.

Ward vs. Froch

Andre Ward won the Super Six tournament on points against WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch. The judges' scorecards were 115–113, 115–113 and 118–110, all in favor of Ward. Ward won the vacant The Ring Super Middleweight title.

The World Boxing Council Board of Governors voted to make Ward "Champion in Recess" due to a broken hand. from which he is currently recovering.

Lineal claims

Ward's unification victory over Froch gave him strong claims for being the Lineal champion. Without even stepping in the ring he cemented this after Froch had beaten IBF champion Lucian Bute, with there being little or no support for the twice-KO'd WBO champ Robert Stieglitz.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles:

Regional/International Titles:

Special Titles:

Personal life

Born in San Francisco, California, Ward currently lives in Dublin, CA and trains in Oakland, CA. He has two sons and a daughter.

Andre Ward made an appearance in the 2008 documentary, Beyond the Ropes.

Connection to Victor Conte

On December 4, the LA Times ran a story connecting Andre Ward with former convicted doping provider Victor Conte. Andre Ward was quoted saying:

"Victor, I like you man, but don't go down that road with me," Ward said he told Conte. "Victor's a brilliant guy when it comes to this stuff (sports science), but I was still going to be watchful. I did my due diligence. I read all the labels. And I feel he deserves to be forgiven."