Tim Bradley says a fight between the retired Andre Ward and Anthony Joshua would sell big in the UK for a clash at Wembley Stadium. Bradley believes the 41-year-old Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) has the mobility, ring IQ, and toughness to defeat Joshua.

The ‘Shakur-esque’ Fighting Style

AJ already gave Ward the get lost message by saying, “Payday, payday” in response to his callout this week.

Ward has the Shakur-esque style of fighting that involves a lot of movement, clinching, and the hideously ugly punch & grab approach. He’s even more boring to watch than Shakur Stevenson. That’s saying a lot. If Turki Alalshikh wants another runner for his Riyadh Season cards, Andre Ward is perfect.

If you saw Ward’s two fights against Sergey Kovalev, the clashes against Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler, you saw the punch & grab being used constantly.

“He’s been retired for a long time, and goes straight to Anthony Joshua? That’s big talk,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, reacting to Andre Ward calling out Anthony Joshua. “He must see something we don’t see. Anthony Joshua can’t think like Andre Ward, and he ain’t got the toughness.”

The Lure of a Big Payout

Ward is probably thinking he could use the big payday to help cushion his retirement. Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson recently came back and picked up $20 million paydays. If they could do it, why not Andre Ward?

“Joshua doesn’t have the feet or the knowledge to deal with Ward. Even with the bombs, you’ve got to be able to land those bombs. Even at 200+ lbs, he’s going to be way smarter than Joshua. It’s a dangerous fight,” said Bradley.

It’s a dangerous fight for Joshua. Ward couldn’t punch when he fought at 168 or 175. His stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev in their rematch in 2017 appeared to be from three straight low blows that the referee, Tony Weeks, somehow failed to see. If he’s going to punch like that with a referee who is unable to spot low blows, he would have a chance of stopping Joshua.

Wembley Stadium: A Perfect Match

“Joshua just got stopped. It makes sense, and it’s going to sell well at Wembley too.  Andre Ward out there in England. You know the English fans love Andre Ward. You know how they behave when they see Joshua. That’s a perfect match. A little lighter guy for you coming back. That makes sense to me,” said Bradley.

Joshua vs. Ward wouldn’t sell in the same way as other options AJ has against Jake Paul, Moses Itauma, Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, Oleksandr Usyk, and Tyson Fury. Even if Joshua can’t get fights against Fury or Usyk, he can still make more money fighting those guys than if he were to fight 41-year-old Ward.

Tim is obviously talking about the British fans loving Ward when he was still working as a commentator for Top Rank’s fights on ESPN. Ward never fought in the UK during his professional career.

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Last Updated on 08/15/2025

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