I think he should fight Carl Froch again, then George Groves, Sakio Bika, Robert Stieglitz and then if the opportunity is there, move up to Light Heavyweight or fight Gennady Golovkin.
Simple question drew, but unlikely. His 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th goal needs to be becoming known in mainstream sporting America or even register in the space. It's a crying shame that a personable, physically acceptable guy (for U.S.) that has arguably been the best fighter in the world the past 3 years is a nobody. I have said it time and again when referencing him, and most boxers, but there are literally hundreds of high school athletes in the U.S. that receive more press, and have a higher name recognition, annually than he does.
Solution:
Given his inept promoter and poor manager, the only shot he has in my eyes is to attempt the following;
1. Get at least $1.5M loan from a financial institution under favorable borrowing conditions.
2. Hire an elite public relations firm to get him introduced in important circles in the sporting world and outside of it.
3. Build relationships in those circles and use the notoriety of those folks to get his face seared in the American public's mind. For example a Snoop Dog (Rapper) video was shown nationally via various major media outlets because he was at a political fundraiser and had a recorded moment with Secretary of State John Kerry. Snoop is by no means a power player in America, but that video gave him credibility AND major exposure.
4. Pay for strategic media campaigns.
Unfortunately, there's nothing Ward can do in the ring to become a star or superstar(none of his potential opponents have mainstream recognition) and without taking personal initiative he will go through his career in anonymity.
It's time to move up challenge the belt holders at Light Heavyweight.
If Bernard Hopkins gets a unification match with Beibut Shumenov
and wins that would make Hopkins the WBA/IBF Light Heavyweight
Champion that would be a very lucrative fight for Andre Ward it would
be kind of hard to make seeing how Hopkins is with Golden Boy and
Andre Ward is with HBO however, it could be promoted. Not only with
B-HOP he could challenge Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev.
The only 2 fights that make sense at SMW are Steiglitz and Dirrell and I can tell u neither of them want a fight with Ward. Dirrell had the clearest duck of any recent fighter when he somehow ducked Ward in a tournament while Steiglitz team want him to hold his belt hostage in Germany and fight easy opponents. Maybe Ward could get a fight with Chavez but thats a total mistmatch
I think its time for Ward to move up especially since he himself said that he would over a year ago. A fight between him, Stevenson or Kovalev is a must watch.
Andre Ward is 29 years old.He's fought the best in his division and beat them all. I agree with those who say he should move up and unify the belts but his main goal should be to try and reach a broader audience. I know it's easier said than done but he's not getting any younger and isn't getting anywhere near the type of paydays or exposure someone of his skill and talent should be getting. I know Ward isn't a greedy guy who isn't about the bling, and he's happy with what he's got from fighting as well as his job on HBO but everytime I see him fight I can't help but think of all the money guys like Berto, Chavez Jr. make simply by how they or their promoters hype them up or present them to the public.
I think he should have at least one more big fight at super middleweight before he moves up a weight class and that fight should be against Carl Froch in Nottingham ,it's only fair since FFro CH came to Oakland last time ,besides ,Froch has a fanbase bigger than Ward does.
Doesn't seem like there's anyone to fight at 168lbs. Everyone there is boring. All the challenges are in the weight above and the weight below. If I was him, I'd just fight at the weight that was most natural. Make everyone come to him. If he wants to be a legend though, move up.
he should look to secure his legacy as the greatest Supermiddleweight of all time.to many fighters move up weight before fullfilling all their full potential at their natural weightclass.he can always move upto 175 in a year or 2.he should stay and fight the likes of groves and steiglitzs.both are very talented and would be great names to have on his resume.i think groves gives him a great fight and could even pull off the upset
Id like to see him move up and fight one of the chamions at light heavy. He can clearly beat anyone at supermiddle. Hes never fought at light heavy but I bet he could beat aby of the champions there
I know u said not to mention opponents but id like to see him fight Stevenson
His goal should be to continue to legit contenders and great fighters like he has been doing. I don;t like watching his style, but he wins, and he tests himself against the best repeatedly, which is all you can ask for in a prizefighter!
He's won the super six and beaten some of the best in the division.
Should his next goal be to unify the super middleweight division? Should he move up and try to become a two weight world champion? Or is there a different goal he should go for?
P.S. I'm not asking who he should fight next, just what goal he should try to achieve next.
Run and hide like his olympic partner Andre Dirrel.
I think he should just move up since no one wants to fight the man and he's cleaned out the division.
