“Everyone Hates Andre Ward”
The Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will soon be on our doorsteps. One of the favorites to add to the expected high tally of gold medals for the USA comes from the bantamweight division of men’s boxing. At just 19 years old, Shakur Stevenson looks the absolute goods. Solid fundamentals, temperament and near limitless potential. Already with a plethora of accomplishments to his name, The teenager from Newark, New Jersey looks set to end a barren, forgettable spell in US Amateur Boxing and kickstart the wheels in motion towards a prosperous and very profitable career in the paid ranks.
But for one of Shakur’s idols and (ironically) the last American male to win Olympic Gold in Boxing, Andre Ward, the wheels have stalled in recent years.
It only feels like yesterday when the now 32 year old broke out from a tightly contested conglomerate of Super Middleweights, convincingly beating the likes of Edison Miranda, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, and finally, Carl Froch on the way to unifying the division and winning the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic. Very rarely does a fighter in this day and age find themselves in a position where they are chucked in the deep end with the elite in their weight class and even more seldom does a fighter emerge from such tests unblemished. By doing both, Ward immediately turned from a highly rated prospect to one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the boxing landscape and a star in the making.
But as we sit here now 4 and a half years later, the projected growth to superstar status has been replaced with a growing chip on his shoulder and a growing disconnect between himself and a sizable section of the boxing world.
There are three major factors for this. Firstly, in boxing, unlike most sports, talent infrequently equates to star power and whilst Ward’s natural ability far separates him from his competitors, the nature of his fights do leave a lot to be desired for. Like a Floyd Mayweather or a Guillermo Rigondeaux type, Ward is sometimes so dominant and so much of a perfectionist, that it suppresses the entertainment factor of the spectacle, which is what unfortunately matters to the wider audience. We can refute this notion and question why it has to be this way, but no one individual can control what people are naturally drawn to. This sentiment has been reflected in the slowness of his ascent to the stage of genuine recognition during the Super Six in addition to his struggle to cultivate a massive following and become a prominent stadium attraction to compliment his skill level.
Then there is also the problem of inactivity. Since the conclusion of the Super Six and a virtuoso performance in September 2012 against then light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, Ward fought twice between then and the conclusion of 2015. While there were some minor injury problems, there was also a lengthy and tedious contractual dispute with his late former promoter Dan Goosen. Ward quickly became a withdrawn and neglected figure in the boxing landscape, during what should have been the prime years of his career physically and commercially.
Finally there is the matter of character and perception. Ward suffers from same problem Evander Holyfield faced in the late 80s and early 90s before he finally crossed paths with Mike Tyson. Spectators aren’t drawn towards the cerebral nature of fighters like Holyfield and Ward. They are two examples of soft spoken, god-fearing African-American fighters who haven’t ,at first glance, invigorated the same emotions out of the fans and media that their contemporaries have, further bringing into question whether we as fans pressure fighters to play specific roles and do or say outlandish things for attention and hype — but that’s a debate for another day.
Ward’s alias as “SOG” (Son of God) reflects his devout faith and it creates a divided opinion. Whilst people, especially those within the fight fraternity, acknowledge and praise Ward’s humility, others perceive him as either inauthentic or condescending. This seems to serve as reasoning for the growing chip on his shoulder Ward has. He has spoken with a slight level of frustration about a lack of recognition by the media, or people trying to pour salt over his achievements and it has now gotten to the stage where it feels like he is back to square one, having to prove himself once again irrespective of what we already know he is capable of.
Even through writing this piece there is a sense of internal conflict and debate because whilst I can sympathise and relate with some of Ward’s sentiments on a personal level (in terms of this constant need to validate yourself to others), as a fan of the sport his attitude, whilst understandable, is at times off putting and very negative from a distance.
But at his pure essence, Ward is a competitor, and a competitor is only focused on what they can impact or enhance. Without this competitive edge, he is left with little to offer to the fight game.
With this in mind and with all distractions and setbacks fully in the rear view mirror, 2016 has seen Ward plot a takeover of the light-heavyweight division which ends when he topples the consensus champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev in November. He made his first step towards that end by soundly beating undefeated Cuban contender Sullivan Barrera in late March. There was evidence of ring rust but for the most part Ward appeared confident and composed at his new weight class. The straight right hand worked well and he even scored a solid knockdown with a nicely timed counter left hook when Barrera had him up against the ropes in the 3rd round.
Nonetheless, there was enough room for improvement shown for Ward himself to seek out a second tune-up fight before his date with destiny in November. This will come in the form of Colombian Alexander Brand this coming Saturday. If we are being honest, as far as tune ups go Brand doesn’t really fit the billing. Visibly limited in terms of ability, he has fought only a couple times outside of his homeland, he is approaching 40, and has fought most of his career at Super Middleweight. However considering the expectation and excitement being fuelled towards his inevitable showdown with Kovalev, his outing on Saturday is pretty much an afterthought. Ward finally has the wheels working close to top speed again and a victory versus one of the most dominant and dangerous fighters in the sport will surely legitimize him once again as the mythical pound-for-pound king and possibly winning him over a legion of critics (…who am I kidding, this is boxing!)
Ward may never be universally liked or become a crossover superstar brand. What nobody can take away from him is the respect and praise of his rivals he’s earned over the years and the foundation he’s laid down beginning at the 2004 Olympic games for future stars like Shakur Stevenson. Ward’s legacy is already been built. From here on out, the hope is that he can build it into something of legend.