Andre Ward Announces Retirement

By FIGHTSPORTS Sep 21, 2017 Last updated Sep 29, 2017

Light-heavyweight champion Andre Ward has announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.

Today Ward, 33, took to his own website to post a statement explaining that he was stepping away from boxing.

Here is his statement in full:

“To the sport of boxing – I love you. 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. I’ve sacrificed a lot for you, but you’ve given me more than I ever thought possible. You gave me a platform, made me a champion and helped me provide for my family. I am forever grateful to you. You and I will always be synonymous, connected at the hip. Thank you for all the wonderful people I’ve come in contact with because of you. I’ve made friends for life. 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.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has played a part in my journey. You know who you are. I could not have done this without you. I want to be clear – 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. Above all, I give God the Glory, for allowing me to do what I’ve done, for as long as I have.”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ✌🏽https://t.co/FTBBwubLsd pic.twitter.com/dtQppu8pAZ

— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) September 21, 2017

Ward, a former Olympic gold medalist, steps away from the sport at the peak of his success. In his last fight he won a rematch against former light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, stopping him in the 8th round to defend the belts he’d won in their first fight.

The first matchup with Kovalev resulted in a controversial Ward victory, but he silenced the critics in the rematch.

He steps away from the sport with a professional record of 32 victories (16 knockouts) and zero defeats.