By Luis Sandoval
Andre Ward may not have fought in the ring since November of last year but he’s still been fighting outside of it trying to break free from his current promoter Goossen Tutor.
There is a pending lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court and while both sides had agreed to continue working together during the proceedings, no fights have been made.
When looking at Ward’s options, some have said a move to Light Heavyweight is the next logical move as many feel Ward has exhausted his options at Super Middleweight. But Ward points to the fact that the options are even more limited 7 pounds north.
“I’m not a Light Heavyweight guys and that’s what it is. I know that there’s been a lot of noise of Kovalev but that’s one fight. That’s not even a pay per view fight. That’s a premium network television fight. And then when I get there, beat Kovalev they’re going to say he’s just a puncher, one dimensional, and then where do I go from there? I’m stuck at Light Heavyweight with no options,” declared Ward.
Ward feels the best place for him is right where he’s currently at as there are two fighters that could provide the big fight he’s looking to land. One of them already has entered the division and the other appears to be on his way in.
“There are options. [Gennady] Golovkin is an option. [Julio Cesar] Chavez [Jr] is an option but those guys have been allowed to circumvent fighting the best guy. Golovkin’s built his reputation on saying he’ll fight anybody. I raise my hand and say I’m somebody. Let’s do it. [But] nothing. And then they circumvent and try to go to Chavez. First they said we’re going to stay at 160 and clean it out. Then Chavez fell through and now it’s something else,” Ward would tell BoxingScene and other members of the media.
Ward is in need of the right dance partner to make his pay per view debut but the two fighters that could offer him that opportunity decided to try and fight each other instead. The only good news for Ward is Chavez is refusing to sign a contract extension with promoter Top Rank in order to secure the Golovkin fight so that fight may not happen after all.
Despite everything, Ward is focused on trying to land a fight but whoever it ends up being, it won’t be at 175 pounds.
“When people say there are not fights, there are more fights at 168 for me than at 175. [Adonis] Stevenson is gone. There’s one fight and it’s not even a pay per view fight so I just want to understand this push to Light Heavyweight. I’m not a Light Heavyweight. I don’t walk around 200 [pounds] or 190”.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter & Instagram @Truewest007.