Andre Ward called out Anthony Joshua today on Instagram, saying that he would come out of retirement “if the business was right.”
The 41-year-old former two-division world champion Ward (32-0, 17 KOs) hasn’t fought in eight years since retiring in 2017 after his knockout win over a washed Sergey Kovalev. He’s now interested in returning if he can secure a fight against Joshua, provided the negotiation terms are to his liking.
AJ responded to the callout from Ward, saying, “Pay day. Pay day [Canelo voice].”
Joshua’s reaction would seem to be a strong signal that he’s not interested in fighting Ward, and it’s understandable why. Ward has been retired for too long, and he’s an unknown to the younger fans who weren’t following the sport during his prime years before calling it quits in 2017.
Joshua is in negotiations for a mega-fight against Jake Paul that could be the biggest fight financially in the sport. Paul is a massive name on social media, and AJ is expected to get his biggest career payday fighting him. I
n contrast, if Joshua were to fight Ward, the money would be chicken feed in comparison, and he’d be wasting a fight for nothing. Besides Jake Paul, Joshua could have nice paydays fighting Daniel Dubois in a rematch, Tyson Fury if he comes out of retirement, or Oleksandr Usyk.
“I get asked on a day-to-day basis. ‘Do you miss boxing, and if you came back, who would you fight?’” said Andre Ward on Instagram today. “Most days I don’t miss it. I’m very content doing what I’m doing in life right now. Who would I fight? That’s the problem.
“There’s a lot of names out there, but not a lot of names that make sense. But there’s one name that I brought up before. When you say that name, I could see myself fighting him present day today.
“If the business was right and everything was right on that front. Me and Anthony Joshua. That’s a fight that I would take at Wembley Stadium. It’s a dangerous fight for my legacy. It’s a dangerous fight across the board, but that’s a fight that would get me in the gym and get me in the mindset that I need to be in to go to war. It’s Anthony Joshua.
“I know he’s getting ready to fight Jake Paul. That’s what it’s going. I’m talking about a real fight for legacy,” said Ward.
It’s too late for Andre Ward. He’s been retired for too long, and he was never a big PPV star before he hung up his gloves. He wasn’t that kind of fighter. He should have come out of retirement years ago if he wanted to be blessed with a payday against Joshua or another big name like Fury. Now, it’s too late. He’s 41, and not enough people still remember him.
Last Updated on 08/11/2025
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