UNIFIED LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT champion Andre Ward announced his retirement from boxing today.
The 33-year-old, whose last two bouts were to win and then defend the WBA, IBF and WBO titles against Sergey Kovalev, says he no longer has a desire to fight because his body is not up to the demands of the sport.
“I want to be clear,” Ward writes in a statement on his website, “I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there.
“If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting.”
After also excelling as an amateur, culminating in an Olympic gold medal in 2004, Ward retires with an unblemished 32 – 0 record (16 knockouts), most of which came at super middleweight on his way to claiming four titles in that division.
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