Lonnie B. Thompson believes that Andre Ward is just looking for a big payday with his callout of the popular British heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
The 41-year-old former 168 and 175-lb world champion Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) has been retired for eight years since 2017. He emerged on social media last week, calling out Joshua, saying it’s a fight that could get him back in the gym to begin working hard.
The Retirement Excuse
Thompson says that Ward would have an excuse to tell fans after he loses to Joshua by blaming it on his fighting well above his natural weight class after being retired since 2017. He questions why Andre Ward isn’t calling out light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and David Benavidez. The weight excuse for losing wouldn’t be there for Ward like it would if he fought AJ and was blown out of the water.
“Andre Ward said, ‘I’ll come out of retirement to fight Anthony Joshua.’ People say he ducked Beterbiev, Bivol, and Benavidez because he saw those guys coming [in 2017]. So he got out [retired],” said Lonnie B Thompson to Fighthype about the retired 41-year-old Andre Ward calling out Anthony Joshua.
Some fans believe the timing of Andre Ward retiring in 2017 was done to avoid fighting Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who were both coming up at the time. Ward would have had to fight them if he hadn’t retired after his rematch with Sergey Kovalev in 2017.
With the way Beterbiev and Bivol looked back then, Ward wouldn’t have stood a chance. Beterbiev would have knocked him out, and Bivol would have pitched a shutout, blanking Ward. They were better fighters in every facet of the game than he was.
Ward could call out Bivol and Beterbiev now to get a big payday if Turki Alalshikh got involved. The money wouldn’t be as good as it would be in a clash against Joshua. Predictably, if Ward strikes out in his attempts at getting Joshua to fight him, he’ll turn his attention to Beterbiev, Bivol, and David Benavidez.
He won’t come back to earn those fights by beating top contenders. He’d be just looking for the fights to be given to him on a silver platter based on his past accomplishments many years ago.
The Weight Disparity
“You’re coming out of retirement to fight somebody 100 pounds bigger than you. Ward has never been a heavyweight. Why would you come out of retirement to fight somebody [that is two divisions above the one you last fought in eight years ago in 2017 at 175],” said Lonnie B.
It’s a sign of desperation on Ward’s part, calling out Anthony Joshua, but it shows that he knows this is his last chance. He can’t afford to wait much longer to get some of the green that other older fighters are now getting.
Ward made decent money during his career, but nowhere near the dough that fighters are making in this era. Guys like Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and Joshua all have net worths over $100 million. Ryan Garcia is worth over $50 million.
The Green Rush
“Of course,” said Lonnie B when asked if it’s money that Ward is after by calling out Joshua. “He’s setting up the stage to have an excuse [if he loses], but to get paid for it. ‘I’m chasing greatness. I haven’t fought in [eight years]. I came and fought a heavyweight.'”
Ward’s decision to call out Joshua rather than the top light heavyweights is entirely about money. He obviously knows that the payday he’d get fighting AJ would be a lot more than what he’d get fighting 175-lb fighters, Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and David Benavidez.
Moreover, Ward would have a built-in excuse to tell the fans after his loss to Joshua, saying that he was fighting two divisions above his natural weight class of 175. He could also tell them that he was coming out of an eight-year retirement at 41. It’s a win-win for Ward.
The Crawford Comparison
There’s nothing to lose for him in taking a fight against Joshua. It’s the same thing with Terence Crawford. He’s about to turn 38, jumping up two divisions after a year’s layoff to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship next month on September 13th.
