Jake Paul easily out-boxed 58-year-old Mike Tyson in the main event of a historic live sports extravaganza on Netflix on Friday. Now, another boxing legend says he’d be interested in entertaining an offer to fight Paul.
Former light heavyweight, super middleweight, and pound-for-pound champion Andre Ward has said he’d talk about a fight with Paul. However, Paul has to “say my name,” Ward said, to start things.
Ward said this while he went live on Instagram as he was walking back to his hotel from AT&T Stadium after the Tyson-Paul fight. Ward was a part of Netflix’s massive crossover panel.
In the video, he gives his take on the fight but discusses what it would take for him to come out of retirement for a scrap with Paul.
Ward retired at the age of 33 back in 2017.
While the 40-year-old is considered an all-time great, I’d contend he is one of the most underrated fighters of the past 30 years. The Oakland, California native walked away from the sport with a record of 32-0 with 16 KOs. As a professional, Ward scored victories over world champions like Sergey Kovalev (twice), Sakio Bika, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Arthur Abraham, and Mikkel Kessler.
Ward won the Super Six World Boxing Classic for 168-pounders, which saw him solidify his place among the elite fighters of his generation. As an amateur, Ward won an Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games. He is the last American male to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Ward is now the chief content officer for All The Smoke Sports, a fast-rising YouTube-based platform that spun off from Showtime Sports. On the ATSS YouTube channel, Ward hosts an interview show that has already had major guests like Terence Crawford, Eddie Hearn, Devin Haney, and others. While not nearly as famous as Tyson, Ward is well known, and his current platform could provide enough push to get Paul to entertain the fight.
The one issue folks who are hoping to see the clash is the risk factor. Paul has been highly selective with opponents in his boxing career. He’s only fought three active boxers in his professional career and is 2-1 against those opponents. Paul scored KO wins over Andre August and Ryan Bourland but lost a split decision to Tommy Fury in February 2023. While Ward hasn’t fought since 2017, he still might be the favorite over Paul.
Ward has seemingly stayed in excellent shape despite his absence from the ring. He was also one of the slickest and most technically sound boxers in the world. Unless his skills have vastly eroded, he would be far and away the best fighter Paul will have faced. Would Paul risk taking a loss against a 40-year-old retired fighter–even one as good and respected as Ward? I have my doubts. It seems more likely Paul fruitlessly chases a fight with Canelo Alvarez.
Despite the easy and massive payday Canelo could take home, it doesn’t seem possible he will take Paul’s bait. We’ll wait to see if Paul picks up what Ward is putting down.
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