by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 125th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with reigning WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) who is coming off an impressive twelve round unanimous decision against Arthur Abraham in the Super Six Semi-Finals. Ward spoke about his victory and also explained why he would prefer to face Carl Froch in the Finals. He also shared his views on Floyd Mayweather, the upcoming rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal, Manny Pacquiao’s recent victory against Shane Mosley, and more! Here are some excerpts from that interview:
His views on the style and approach of Arthur Abraham during the first three rounds:
“Well I don’t think it was a drastically different style. He just came out and landed some good shots. He just came out more aggressively. I think that’s what it boils down to, but I knew that if he wanted to hold that pace, I knew my conditioning was better than his and I knew that I could hold that pace. Number one, and number two, you know he fought like that his whole career and I just didn’t see him coming out of himself for the entire fight. I thought maybe in spots like in the early rounds, but I knew in my gut and my team knew that eventually he would go back to his old ways which he eventually did around the fourth or fifth round and also for the rest of the fight.”
On whether it was difficult to get through Abraham’s guard early in the fight:
“I think it was difficult to get through the guard the whole fight. People don’t give Arthur credit for his defense and his craftiness. He was very crafty and he would do this thing where he times you. So he’ll have his hands up and he’ll anticipate a punch coming and when he does he’ll squeeze real tight and he’s already low to the ground. You know he’s one of the shortest super middleweights out there. He’s very thick and stocky so his defense and the small intricate things he does are very underrated and he has an airtight defense. So it wasn’t easy at all the whole night, but I think one thing early on is I had to find my range because like I said, he’s one of the shorter super middleweights out there but he’s got long arms for a short guy. So you don’t think he can reach you and then all of a sudden he reaches you out of nowhere. I think early on I had to make that adjustment to find the right range to hit and not get hit, and once I found that I think things started working out in my favor.”
On what it means to him to have finally reached the Super Six Finals after such a long journey:
“I mean I feel great! I feel good. I feel like this is where I set out to be from day one. We always, and I’m speaking of me and my team and my coach Virg’, we always knew this was possible. We also knew it was a long journey and we knew that we couldn’t get ahead of ourselves. With that being said, I’m used to this type of setting from the amateurs and I understand that it’s premature to celebrate just yet, because whether it’s Glen Johnson or whether it’s Carl Froch in the Finals, those are two tough fights and we have one more fight to realize our dream.”
On whether he believes he matches up better against Glen Johnson or Carl Froch:
“I think I match up well against both guys, I really do. Regardless of who it is my coach is going to come up with a great game plan and we’re going to execute it. That’s what it boils down to. As far as the fans, I think the fans want to see me and Froch because number one, he’s from England and I’m from the United States and there have been rivalries between these two countries over the years. Number two, we’re two guys who started out in the tournament. We’ve both endured setbacks and we’ve endured the hardships that have come along with this tournament and we’re still standing. I just think from a fan standpoint there is a lot of excitement for Ward-Froch but at the same time Johnson is going to try to have something to say about that June 4. So regardless of who it is we have to be prepared and we will be.”
His views on the upcoming rematch between Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins:
“Well you know it’s a very interesting fight. I’m friends with Jean Pascal, I’m friends with Bernard Hopkins, and I’m going to just sit back and watch it as a fan. I mean in this sport as we all know you can never just say who’s going to win and what’s going to happen at this level. Jean Pascal has a lot to prove and Bernard Hopkins is trying to make history so both guys are extremely motivated. So I’m just looking forward to it. I can’t wait until Saturday night!”
His views on Floyd Mayweather Junior as a fighter and a champion and whether he believes he proved himself in his fight with Shane Mosley:
“Floyd Mayweather has proven himself long before the Shane Mosley situation where he got caught with that punch. This is an individual who has been on top of his game for over a decade. He won the title from the great Genaro Hernandez who was a decorated champion at the time that they fought and Floyd won that fight. Then he went on to fight championship fights from that point on so Floyd Mayweather has proven himself. He got hit with big shots in the Chop Chop Corley fight and he battled back. He got hit with a big shot in the Zab Judah fight. He kept his composure and battled back. He fought Ricky Hatton when everybody in the arena was against him. He kept his composure and finished that fight in spectacular fashion. So hey! It’s always going to be something that somebody says you haven’t shown or you haven’t done, but if you really watch and turn the television down and not listen to some of the media outlets and really just focus on what’s going on, you’ll see that a guy can’t get 40-0 without proving himself.”
Whether he believes Mayweather is more apt to face Manny Pacquiao given the perception Pacquiao slipped a bit as a fighter:
“I think it goes back again to the situation with Shane where I think that everything Shane said he wanted to do and was going to do before that fight, he believed that. But Shane got hit with a shot that he said he felt was a punch he never felt before, and he said basically from the fourth round to the sixth round that he couldn’t remember anything and this is a veteran keep in mind that has fought just about everybody. He’s been in wars and he fought at the highest level for many, many years and he got hit with a shot. So it probably startled him. It probably shook him to the point where like we saw, he just went on the defensive. When a guy is on the defensive like Shane was with as much experience as Shane has it’s very difficult to stop him again. So I don’t think Pacquiao’s lost a step. I think Pacquiao is still Pacquiao. I hope and pray that Pacquiao and Floyd can get this fight on for the fans and also for their own legacy. I think Floyd is just asking that Pacquiao take the test and I don’t want to go too deep into this because I don’t know all the details. But I think at the highest level which Pacquiao and Floyd are at and even myself fighting at the championship level, I think every champion should be subjected to top of the line testing because you hear so many things out there about so many things that are going on and so many things that people are taking. There are just so many rumors that we can put it all to rest. We can assure the fans that everybody is on an even playing field and both fighters can know that both camps are on an even playing field by just taking random tests like he and Shane did leading up to the fight, even if it’s the day before the fight. I think that would just quell a lot of problems, a lot of arguments, and a lot of speculation, and I think if Pacquiao would do that I hope that’s all that Floyd needs to accept the fight.”
On whether he ever goes out of his way to be more entertaining in order to silence his critics:
“Well you know I train hard. I train hard and I prepare hard for each fight. I respect this sport a great deal and when you respect the sport you prepare accordingly. That being said, every fight that I go into I just try to give it my all. I try to give it my best. There’s no quit in me. There’s no coast in me where I just want to barely get by. It’s unfortunate that sometimes the media and different things like that they will kind of nitpick and look for something to critique instead of looking for something to praise and look forward to in the future. I feel like I have something to offer. It may not be what everybody wants or what certain people want, but I feel like I come in here as an individual who’s represented his country as an Olympic Gold Medalist. I’ve worked my way up the hard way. A lot of people said that our pace was too slow and different things like that, but it turned out to be the right pace. I thank God that for every challenge that’s been before us we’ve been able to overcome. So all I can do is just keep working hard and keep trying to give everybody the best Andre Ward that I can. But at the same time just understand that if an individual like Floyd Mayweather who’s 41-0 can get called a boring fighter and somebody that doesn’t have heart, Bernard Hopkins for many years they said he was unentertaining, and other guys like that can be labeled as such. If they want to label me the same then that’s good company, because of those guys are Hall of Famers and both of those guys are legends in my book. So if that’s the company that I have to be in then so be it!”
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For those interested in listening to the Andre Ward interview in its entirety, it begins right at the start of the program.
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