Retired Andre Ward called out Anthony Joshua today on social media, saying a fight between them at Wembley Stadium would motivate him to train. Ward, 41, hasn’t fought since his victory over Sergey Kovalev at 175 in 2017.
Anthony Joshua’s Payday Response
Joshua’s reaction to Ward’s callout was sarcastic, saying “Pay day. Pay day [Canelo voice],” said Anthony Joshua on social media, responding to Andre Ward’s callout.
“If the business was right and everything was right on that front. Me and Anthony Joshua. That’s a fight that I would take at Wembley Stadium,” said Andre Ward on Instagram today. “It’s a dangerous fight for my legacy. That’s a fight that would get me in the gym and get me in the mindset that I need to be in to go to war.
“I know he’s getting ready to fight Jake Paul. I’m talking about a real fight for legacy,” said Ward.
Joshua, a Fighter’s Piggy Bank?
Joshua is seen as a piggy bank for fighters now. First, it was Jake Paul, and now Ward. If he were to indulge Ward to give him the fight, it would be some other retired old guy, hoping to persuade Joshua to give them a fight that they don’t deserve.
At this point, Ward fighting Joshua would have nothing to do with “legacy.” It would just be about Andre coming back, looking to get a giant payday for the kind of money he never saw during his professional career.
For Ward’s rematch with Sergey Kovalev on June 17, 2017, he reportedly got a guaranteed purse of $6.5 million. In their first fight, his purse was $5 million. Fighting Joshua would be much bigger money than that if he could get it.
The Allure of Enormous Purses
With Turki Alalshikh in the game, throwing money at aging fighters like Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, the purses are enormous. The performances haven’t kept up. Both of those guys were unimpressive in their last fights.
Ward had a boring fighting style during his career, which involved single potshots, followed by a dive in to grab and hold. His two fights with Sergey Kovalev and his clash against Carl Froch were almost unwatchable due to the holding. You can just imagine the amount of clinching Ward would do if he fought Joshua.
