Andre Ward: “When people try to tag me as a dirty fighter I think that’s uncalled for”

by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 113th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) who is scheduled to face Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs) in the Semi-Finals of the Super Six Boxing Classic on May 14. Ward spoke about his upcoming fight and also talked about his career and shared opinions regarding the current boxing landscape. Here is a complete transcript of that interview.

JENNA J: Alright guys, it’s time for our final guest on this week’s show. He is the undefeated WBA super middleweight champion making his seventh appearance. We’re joined by Andre “S.O.G.” Ward. How’s everything going tonight, Andre?

ANDRE WARD: I’m doing good. I’m doing excellent.

JENNA: Well that’s always great to here. Now you have a big upcoming fight in the Semi-Finals of the Super Six against Arthur Abraham. What are you expecting in this match?

WARD: I’m expecting the best Arthur Abraham. I’m not expecting anything less, and if it’s anything less then that’s a bonus. Mentally and physically I’m focused and I’m locked in. I mean have two fights left in this tournament to realize a dream that I’ve had for the last couple of years since I entered this tournament. It will change my life and my career. So that’s all I’m focused on. I’m not really buying too much into Arthur Abraham not being the same guy or the fact that he took a tune-up and now he’s back. I’m just locked in on fighting the best Arthur Abraham and not only winning, but winning spectacularly on May 14.

JENNA: Now you mentioned his tune-up fight. He had a fight against Stjepan Bozic. Were you at all worried that he could possibly get injured and postpone your fight when he took that match?

WARD: Well without going to deep into the particulars, honestly he wasn’t supposed to take that fight. From a contractual standpoint he was not supposed to take that fight. So why he was allowed to, I don’t understand that. With that being said, yeah I was extremely worried because just as easily as his opponent got hurt, he could have been hurt. I’m sure my team would have made sure that we kept that date, but I didn’t want any more replacements. I want to fight the guys that are in the tournament. So it would have just been disappointing if anything, but he took the fight and it lasted a round and a half or almost two rounds and I don’t really know how much that did for him.

JENNA: It’s interesting you mention that. The whole point of him taking this was that he would get more confidence, get a win, and get a win at 168. Do you think the fight being so short, that he didn’t gain anything at all?

WARD: Well it’s hard to say. Personally no, I don’t think he gained much at all. Look at it like this, if he’s in a tough fight for ten rounds it really doesn’t benefit him to come right back and to fight against me a couple of months later. If he would have gotten a first round knockout, a lot of people would have said he’s back with a spectacular knockout, but it still wouldn’t have benefitted him. He’s getting a false sense of security by fighting a guy who, from the research I’ve done, was a former sparring partner of his. So they knew each other very well. To me personally, it doesn’t really work like that. The guy he fought was not Andre Ward and we have totally two different styles and I just don’t think that’s a good barometer to see where he’s at by taking the tune-up fight. Like I said, that’s him, that’s his team, and if they felt like that was going to help, which they did because they took the tune-up, so be it. I wasn’t worried in terms of him getting an advantage, per se. I was just more or less worried about him getting injured and having the tournament not be what it is supposed to be down the stretch.

JENNA: Does it affect you at all, as you mentioned earlier, that Arthur Abraham is not the same fighter, that’s what people are saying, does it bother you at all that people might not give you as much credit if you thoroughly beat him?

WARD: No not really, it’s just part of the game. It’s part of what people say and do, even for example Carl Froch. I mean I put on a great performance against Kessler and then he comes back and fights Kessler and it was really a life or death type of fight. He lost and then he goes on the record to say he retired Kessler. Things are said. Things are done in this sport that will have you scratching your head, but it’s not the first time that I’ve heard that. You know I beat Edison Miranda, and well he’s been knocked out several times so I didn’t get the credit. Some people gave me the credit and said, “Hey this kid is ready for a title shot. He beat a tough guy like Miranda and stayed in there with him and was able to take his punches”. It’s just, and I always say this guys that I have to live my life in the middle. I have to be right there. I can’t get too caught up in the praises and I can’t let the criticism get to me either. So it doesn’t matter. All I’m focused on is moving forward in this tournament, getting to the Finals, and winning the Finals. That’s it!

JENNA: Now Andre, people have been very critical of you and your performances in the Super Six. Do you think that is unfairly being put upon you?

WARD: Well I mean some of it may be true. When people try to tag me as a dirty fighter I think that’s uncalled for. I mean if you look at the Kessler fight, I’m still a young champion. You know I’m learning to settle down in the ring. I have a lot of youth in me. That being said, when it pertains to head-butts and different things like that, I mean I don’t know how to head-butt a guy and not get cut myself. That takes a lot of skill, and art, and experience. I don’t have that. It happens and you guys have seen me on the bad end of head-butts. I don’t want to be cut having to get stitched up and stuff after fights. So it’s just things that have happened in the last few fights and it’s unfortunate. Trust me I’m learning to keep my head out of the way because I don’t want to be cut. But in terms of my performances and from a skill standpoint with different things I’m doing right and wrong, I mean hey! I’m not doing everything right. I’m open for critique and open for people to say things that they think I may need to work on. I’m cool with that part, but when people say things like I’m a dirty fighter or they try and tag me and say I can only win at home. I just think people need to do their research before they start throwing rocks and just understand that I fought a lot abroad. Still domestically, but I’ve only had four fights in Oakland. When you look at my 23 fights that means I’ve fought 19 times away from Oakland. I fought close to home in San Jose and different things like that, but it’s not the same. I just think people need to do their research before they talk about those kinds of things.

JENNA: Well Andre, we’re also joined by my Co-Host Geoff.

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hey Andre, it’s a pleasure to have you back on the show.

WARD: Hey, it’s always good to be on.

CIANI: Thank you. Now Andre, the way a lot of fans are talking when discussion of the Super Six comes up on boxing message boards is that a showdown between you and ‘The Cobra’ is inevitable for the Finals. Now I know you don’t want to look past Abraham, but if you could write a storybook ending for yourself and you got to pick who you would face, would you rather face ‘The Cobra’ than Glen Johnson in the Finals given the fans seem excited about that?

WARD: Absolutely! Absolutely, I get excited when they’re excited. I get excited when the fans are excited, when the media is excited, and when the media starts to talk about a matchup or demand a matchup. That’s exciting to me, so absolutely! Obviously we both have business to take care of. We both have tall orders in front of us. So it’s definitely premature to think about that, but off the top of my head I would definitely choose ‘The Cobra’. I think Las Vegas would be a perfect venue. I think there would be plenty of Brits and plenty of Americans and I think it would be a tremendous fight for the sport of boxing, number one, but then also it would be an awesome climax to this tournament.

CIANI: I agree with you on that and I think that’s the feeling a lot of fans have. Andre, you know that Carl can be an outspoken guy and he can have a lot of things to say, but I was actually surprised the last time we had him on our show here. He gave you a great deal of respect and how you were the favorite in the tournament, and it was an uncharacteristic approach from Froch. What do you think of him and do you think he will beat Glen Johnson?

WARD: You know I can see Carl getting his hand raised, but it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be tough. I don’t think that Glen has ever been a pushover, and even when Bernard stopped him Bernard had to work to get that stoppage and this was obviously years ago and Glen didn’t have the experience that he has now and different things like that. That’s going to be a tough order for anybody until he hangs his gloves up. That being said, he’s going to be a tough matchup for Carl Froch. Carl should get his hand raised and obviously my goal is to be the guy on the other side of the ring fighting either Johnson or ‘The Cobra’. I’m just looking forward to it, man. I’m just excited and I’m highly motivated for these next two fights.

CIANI: Okay Andre, now I want to ask you a question I’ve asked most of the times I’ve had you on this show, but I think it’s always a relevant question especially given the first time we had you on the show you were basically viewed as a green fighter going in against tournament favorite at the time, Mikkel Kessler. But since then you established yourself as the top dog in the super middleweight division and the favorite to win the Super Six. How do you stay motivated and not lose the hunger to prove yourself?

WARD: I don’t know. I guess just because, and I said this before, I’m thankful for what I’ve accomplished thus far and it’s great, but I’m really just impressed with what I’ve done because I feel like I haven’t really done anything. So that being said, from Virgil’s standpoint my trainer, from my standpoint, we’ve always had the mentality we are constantly reaching and we are probably reach sometimes to a fault because maybe we don’t give ourselves enough credit. Even as an amateur, I was winning a tournament and we’d come home and after a week we wouldn’t even talk about it anymore. We were thinking about the next one. That’s just kind of how are team is built with me and Virgil. That’s the chemistry we have and I think that contributes to a lot of our success. We never get comfortable. We understand the dangers of this game. We understand that as soon as you start kind of feeling yourself and feeling like you arrived, that could be a major problem. I never want to be a guy who in a post -fight interview said I took this guy lightly or I should have won that fight and I want a rematch. I never wanted to be that guy. So that being said, I accomplished some things but there is so much more. There are so many more fighters that I want to beat and there are more belts out there that I want to grab. So in short, it’s just a lot of work still to be done.

CIANI: Changing things up here Andre, in the lead-up to the fight between Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal most of our guests were picking Pascal, but you said to us, “I think Hopkins is right where he wants to be. He’s in a position where people think he’s too old, he’s lost a step, he can’t pull the trigger, and there is no way he’s going to beat the younger guy”. What did you think of that fight and were you at all surprised?

WARD: No, I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised at all. I think both guys put on a great performance. I really do. I think Pascal put on a great performance. I think Bernard, given his age and given the odds that were against him because of his age and that he fought outside of his country and all of those different things, I mean you should take your hat off to both guys, really. I’m looking forward to the rematch. I really am. It was just a good fight. There was some controversy at the end and I understand both sides and both arguments, but hopefully this second fight will erase any and all confusion and the world will know who is the best light heavyweight.

CIANI: What do you think of the light heavyweight division as a whole? Who do you think will ultimately become the top dog? I know they’re not in a Super Six style tournament up there, but what do you think when you look at guys like Cloud, Dawson, Hopkins, and Pascal, who do you think will emerge there as the number one guy?

WARD: It’s kind of tough right now because everyone is like in the pack together. They’re dominant in their own right, but against each other obviously they haven’t fought so it’s hard to say. I think these guys all need to lock horns to see how the best is. I think that’s the only way you can prove it. I think Cloud has to fight a Chad Dawson, and Chad Dawson has to fight a Pascal again, and the winner of that has to fight Hopkins depending on who wins. They’re all in the pack right now. I think there is going to be some good matchups to see how can pull away and who can assert their dominance. It’s just like with the division I’m in, the 168 pound division where there is a lot of talk about Bute and the winner of the Super Six. Really nobody can claim to be the best until the fight the best, period. That goes for me and that goes for everybody else. Now once that happens and there is one guy standing then we can talk about that.

JENNA: Now Andre, you mentioned Bute before and you mentioned people fighting the best. That’s one thing he gets criticized most for is not fighting the best. He has an upcoming fight on March 19 against Brian Magee. What do you think of him continuously fighting these lower level opponents or do you think that’s just all he has outside the Super Six?

WARD: Well I think he’s biding his time right now to obviously not get in there where he’s going to take any punishment or look bad. He’s just waiting to cash in on the winner of the Super Six and that may backfire because who’s to say the winner, who of course I believe is going to be me, but who is to say that you’re going to want to go right to Bute after two years of fighting grueling fights. You don’t know. You got to see how these next two fights go. You got to see how you feel. You got to see from a business standpoint what makes sense. Do we fight him now? Do we fight him a year from now? So you have to take into account all of that. Everybody just assumes that either Kessler or Bute is going to get a shot. Well a good idea may be for those guys to fight each other and the winner of that fight gets the winner of the Super Six because we’ve had two years of wear and tear on us and to go right back into another big fight. Of course the money is going to be there, but from a physical standpoint I mean it might not make sense. I think he’s biding his time but it remains to be seen if that backfires on him or not. I take nothing away from Bute. He’s done what he was supposed to do with the guys that he’s fought. He’s stopped them! Obviously we all have flaws. I’ve seen some flaws in him, he may see some in me, but I just think it’s premature for anybody to be called the King of the 168 pound division when there is so many good fighters and you have an awesome tournament like the Super Six going on and then you have another guy who’s kind of waiting in the wings. Everybody’s got to lock horns to see who is the best. Even with Kessler, you see him waiting in the wings saying I’m a champion and I’m coming back and I want to face the winner of the Super Six. So hopefully in the next year, year and a half, two years, all matters will be settled and we’ll know who the best is.

JENNA: Alright now the next question I have for you is about two opponents. One you were supposed to fight and one you already fought. Mikkel Kessler is talking about returning in June and there has also been some talk that Andre Dirrell is also going to return early this year. What do you think of both of their returns and do you they can comeback successfully?

WARD: I think so. I think in all fairness, I think if Mikkel Kessler can come back and resume training and get another opportunity to fight a big name, then so should Andre Dirrell. I think that’s how it should go. It can’t be a double standard. Some people had questions about Kessler’s injury, and I was one of them. Some people had questions about Dirrell’s injuries. To be safe and to make sure that I wasn’t out of line I said hey, you got to take these guys at their word. You can’t question when an athlete says he’s seeing double vision or getting headaches. You have to take them at their word just like I would want someone to take me at my word. That being said, Kessler said he’s feeling fine now. Dirrell said he’s feeling fine. So I think both of them should get an opportunity to redeem their careers and just move forward.

JENNA: Now Andre if you win the Super Six, the talk is that whoever wins it really should get on a top five pound-for-pound list. I’m curious what you think of that. Do you think if you win the Super Six you should be up there with Pacquiao and Martinez and people that are in the top five?

WARD: I guess I have to leave that to the boxing writers and to the people that vote. As far as saying where I should be, I want to just keep giving them a reason to put me in there. Just like my good friend Nonito, I’m still in Vegas right now and some people questioned him being in the top ten pound-for-pound and why is he there—his performance! His performance solidified and took away any doubt on why he should be on that pound-for-pound list and he’ll probably catapult into the top five and I want to do the same thing. I don’t want to just talk about it and say where I should be. I just want to keep putting on great fights and get better and better as I go.

JENNA: Alright now I mentioned the top five and I mentioned Pacquiao. What do you think of his upcoming fight against Shane Mosley?

WARD: I think with the exception of Floyd Mayweather, Mosley is probably the best move for Pacquiao. Bob Arum has been doing this a very long time and from my standpoint I haven’t seen Bob make too many mistakes. So I think he knows what he’s doing. Some people are going to like the matchup, some aren’t, but who else is he going to fight outside of Floyd Mayweather? I mean Margarito put up a gallant effort. He fell short, but I got excited about that fight. Some people didn’t like it because of his past and him getting licensed and things like that, but I was excited about the fight. I thought he could have pushed Pacquiao and give him a good fight and the same thing with Shane. You know you can argue that Shane’s done, Shane can’t pull the trigger, but they said the same thing before the Margarito fight and then look what Shane did. So that’s the beauty of boxing. You just never know. I think as a whole in the boxing community, we keep saying that boxing is dead and nobody is interested. We have the opportunity in interviews like this, on blogs, on websites, we need to start picking up the sport by being optimistic sometimes and just being positive. Sometimes we’re too negative and outsiders look at the negative stuff that we say about our own kind. So why would they get interested in the sport? I feel like we need a situation where hey, this guy in his last two or three fights have been shaky, but guess what, man? Shane might have a chance. I’m not saying to lie or anything, but just try to be positive. When you look at a matchup like Pacquiao and Mosley, this is the biggest fight that boxing has right now and this is going to bring a lot of mainstream attention to our sport and this is what we’re always asking for. But when we get the mainstream attention and the national coverage, we take those opportunities to kind of attack the big fight or the fighters that are involved, and I just think that’s not good. Call it like you see it, but give our sport and the guys that put the fight together, give them some credit and I think if the outsiders see us doing that I think they’ll want to jump onboard, too.

JENNA: Now back to your fight with Arthur Abraham, what do you see that he does in the ring that can pose the biggest threat to you?

WARD: Well I mean as far as what kind of threat he’s going to be, that remains to be seen. On the surface, I think I’m going to get the same Arthur Abraham. He’s probably going to try and open up maybe a little bit earlier, but that’s his game. He tries to wait guys out, wait guys out, and wait guys out, and down the stretch a lot of guys get tired and he tries to open up. That’s not going to be the case with me. I feel like I get stronger as the fight goes on. I really can’t say what Arthur’s going to bring. I’m just locked on what I have to bring because I’m just really excited. I don’t think the world has seen the best of Andre Ward by far, and I just want to keep stepping my game up so to speak and that’s all I’m focused on in this fight and God willing the Finals. It’s just stepping my game up.

JENNA: Alright well I have one final question. Is there anything you want to say to your fans and supporters Andre?

WARD: Just that I’m thankful and appreciative for all of the support and all of the love, but the best is yet to come. I always say that because I don’t feel like I’m even close to my peak yet. So guys, just keep supporting and keep sending your positive thoughts on Twitter and on my website and I’m going to continue to do my job to prepare and be focused and go out there and put on a great performance every chance I get.

JENNA: Well Andre, it’s been fantastic having a chance to interview you today. We’re looking forward to your fight with Arthur Abraham and we wish you the best of luck.

WARD: Thanks a lot.

CIANI: Thanks Andre. Good luck.

WARD: Thank you. Bye bye.

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For those interested in listening to the Andre Ward interview in its entirety, it begins approximately one hour and thirty-four minutes (1:34:29) into the program.

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