{"id":355337,"date":"2017-09-21T17:41:43","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T17:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=355337"},"modified":"2017-11-10T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T11:16:50","slug":"two-weight-world-champion-andre-ward-retires-from-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/two-weight-world-champion-andre-ward-retires-from-boxing\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-weight world champion Andre Ward retires from boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Unified light-heavyweight world champion Andre Ward has retired, ending a career which delivered world titles across two weight divisions.<\/p>\n
Ward, 33, held titles at super-middleweight but moved up a weight division and unified the WBA, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight belts in 2016.<\/p>\n
In a statement he said his body could not “put up with the rigors” of boxing.<\/p>\n
“If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything I have, then I should no longer be fighting,” he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week Ward posted an image to social media showcasing titles he had earned during his career.<\/p>\n
He last fought in June when he stopped Sergey Kovalev in a Las Vegas rematch to defend the titles he had won in a unification bout with the Russian seven months earlier.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ward inflicted the only defeats of Kovalev’s career and his perfect 32-fight record also boasts victories over names such as Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler during time spent at super-middleweight.<\/p>\n
“To the sport of boxing – I love you,” wrote the 2004 Olympic gold medallist. “You’ve been by my side since I was 10 years old. You’ve taught me so much. You’ve humbled me. You’ve promoted me.<\/p>\n
“As I walk away from the sport of boxing today, I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it. We did it.”<\/p>\n
After turning professional after his Olympic success in 2004, Ward took five years to land his first world title with a shock victory over Kessler.<\/p>\n
That success arrived in the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, where Ward later beat Arthur Abraham and Froch to take the trophy.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unified light-heavyweight world champion Andre Ward has retired, ending a career which delivered world titles across two weight divisions. Ward, 33, held titles at super-middleweight but moved up a weight division and unified the WBA, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight belts in 2016. In a statement he said his body could not “put up with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[11279,306],"yoast_head":"\n