The Art Of Ward

Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. are back with a new edition of HALL OF GAME, and they’re going straight at the fight everybody just watched: Jaron “Boots” Ennis stopping Xander Zayas in the 7th round at Barclays. Boots broke Zayas down to the body, but the Hall of Fame duo don’t see the third round firefight the same way. Roy calls it going to sleep, Dre calls it an exchange, and they go back and forth on whether it’s a real flaw or just the cost of having that much in the bag.

From there it’s the stoppage everyone’s arguing about: should Zayas’ corner have waved it off in the fifth to save him the punishment? Did he quit, or did he show enough? Roy and Dre get into the difference between quitting and getting beat and the mental side of prizefighting.

Then they look ahead: what’s actually next for Boots, chase the Vergil Ortiz fight, or Fundora? Plus shout-outs to Emiliano Vargas, Ben Whittaker, and Jose Valenzuela avenging his loss to Edwin de la Santos.
0:00 Intro0:46 Setting the scene: Zayas vs. Boots at Barclays Center1:36 First reactions: fight, atmosphere, stoppage2:07 Body shots that set up the finish4:01 Round 1 power and the Round 3 wobble7:05 Is Boots’ “defensive lapse” overblown?9:11 Ad break10:31 Zayas’ round 3 strategy debated12:57 Boots’ defense, standards, and grading his own performance18:19 Ward’s “mental letdown” theory22:07 The “bag of stuff” theory & lack of elite competition37:08 Setting up the late rounds38:33 Round 5 knockdown breakdown39:45 Should the corner have stopped it?44:18 Round 7 stoppage and the corner look46:28 Did Zayas quit? The big debate51:18 Where Zayas goes from here53:51 What’s next for Boots Ennis56:56 Shoutouts: Vargas Jr., Whittaker, Valenzuela1:01:16 Roy Jones Jr.’s award shoutout1:01:34 Outro
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Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. are back in a new edition of HALL OF GAME, and they’re not holding back. They break down the fight everybody’s talking about, Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Xander Zayas on June 27 at Barclays, and Roy makes his pick clear: on paper, Boots is supposed to win, and the only question is whether Zayas can take the punch. Who will come out on top?

First they get into the NBA Finals: how the New York Knicks erased a 29-point Game 4 lead and snatched the title from Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs after 53 years, why Roy says De’Aaron Fox’s turnovers “turned the team off,” and what Wemby still has to prove. Then it’s Bam Rodriguez making history as a three-division champ at 24, the Inoue super-bantamweight fight everybody wants, and Roy’s blunt take on the modern “duck game” and the media that fuels it.

Finally, the Hall of Fame duo talk Errol Spence Jr.‘s comeback fight vs. a tough Tim Tszyu, Errol opening up on THE ART OF WARD, and a message to the haters.
0:00 - Intro: Hall of Game Is Back1:15 - Roy Jones Jr. Catches Us Up: Franklyn Dwomoh, Newman vs. Munguia & Dallas Fight Card2:10 - NY Knicks Win the NBA Championship After 53 Years4:15 - Roy’s Take: De’Aaron Fox’s Turnovers & the Spurs’ Collapse7:34 - The Boxing Parallel: How Leads Slip Away12:08 - Shout Out to Jalen Brunson & the Knicks’ Grit13:54 - AD BREAK14:49 - Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Becomes 3-Division World Champion16:40 - Can Bam Beat Naoya Inoue? Breaking Down the Styles25:30 - Xander Zayas vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis | June 27 Preview27:43 - Is This Fight Too Soon for Zayas?30:23 - Breaking Down Boots’ Fight Game & the Weight Class Move36:20 - Winner Gets “The Towering Inferno” — What’s at Stake40:28 - Errol Spence Jr. Is Back! July 25 vs. Tim Tszyu41:48 - Roy’s Coaching Take: What Spence Needs to Rediscover43:27 - Dre’s Interview with Spence: The Crawford Fight, the Camp & the Comeback47:51 - Addressing the 10%: YouTube Critics Calling Spence’s Interview “Excuses”50:32 - Andre & Roy on Biased Media & Fighters Feeding Narratives58:45 - Katie Taylor Sells Out Croke Park (82,000 Tickets in 30 Min!)1:01:16 - Outro
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Errol Spence Jr. pulls up to THE ART OF WARD in Houston, in the middle of training for Tim Tszyu, for one of the most open conversations of his career. The Dallas native and former unified welterweight champion takes Andre all the way back — fighting in the DeSoto streets, a 120-degree gym with no AC, starting boxing late but making the 2012 Olympic team anyway, and the mindset that made him a feared sparring-session legend before he ever turned pro.

Errol gets into the stories only he can tell: the day Floyd Mayweather called him an expletive mid-session and they turned off the bell to keep going, why his father steered him to Al Haymon over a $250K Top Rank signing bonus, the car crash that nearly took everything, the eye injury that cancelled Pacquiao, and the truth about the Crawford camp and the loss that reset his life.
00:00:00 – Intro00:00:19 – Relationship Between Andre & Errol00:02:30 – Training Camp & Working Smarter With Age00:06:03 – Growing Up in DeSoto, Texas00:07:16 – How Errol Got Into Boxing00:09:47 – Amateur Career & Roy Jones Influence00:13:00 – Competitive Mentality & Sparring Intensity00:15:30 – Starting Late & Being Preserved00:18:51 – 2012 Olympics Experience00:20:01 – Turning Pro & Signing With Al Haymon00:28:24 – Financial Wisdom & Life After Boxing00:34:13 – Sparring Floyd Mayweather00:38:58 – Kell Brook Fight in England00:42:52 – Relationship With Jerry Jones & AT&T Stadium Fight00:47:04 – Free Agent on Handshakes Only00:50:29 – Drinking & The Car Accident00:54:13 – The Shawn Porter Fight00:58:51 – Financial Discipline & Living Off Interest01:01:11 – The Car Accident: What He Remembers01:07:25 – Life After the Accident01:10:22 – Reconnecting With God After the Crawford Loss01:15:26 – Being a Present Father01:22:58 – Manny Pacquiao Fight Falling Through & Eye Injury01:29:13 – Making the Crawford Fight Happen01:31:47 – Crawford Camp Issues & Derrick James01:38:41 – The Crawford Fight Night01:44:59 – Life After the Crawford Loss01:52:32 – Why He’s Still Fighting at 3601:57:47 – Closing Thoughts & Appreciation
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Shakur Stevenson sits down with Andre Ward on THE ART OF WARD for the third time, and it might be the most unfiltered one yet. Fresh off selling out Madison Square Garden and turning Teofimo Lopez into a one-sided beatdown, the four-division world champ breaks down how he played that fight a thousand times in his head before the first bell, why he’s suddenly boxing’s most wanted (and most clout-chased) name, and the real story behind walking away from his WBC belt.

Shakur goes deep on the Devin Haney standoff and the 144 vs 147 weight tug-of-war, fires back at Bill Haney’s “easy work” claim, sizes up Conor Benn, and guarantees he’d stop any UFC crossover that dares step in the ring, like an Ilia Topuria. He and Dre get into the boxing brain that separates the elite, studying tape vs trusting instincts, and the young fighters and managers Shakur is now building behind the scenes.

Then it gets personal: why fame is a “cold game,” the Floyd Mayweather obsession that genuinely scares him, the J Prince lessons on teaching a man to fish, the O’Shaquie Foster beef, and what going out on top actually looks like.
0:00 - Intro & Sparring Session (Andre Ward & Shakur Stevenson)3:32 - Breaking Down the Teofimo Lopez Fight5:28 - Sold Out MSG & Handling the Pressure6:40 - “I Was Born for This” | Performing Under Bright Lights8:20 - Corner Advice & Almost Stopping Teo10:29 - The Post-Fight High | A Month to Come Down11:44 - Appreciating Teofimo for Making the Fight12:02 - Making Big Fights Happen Directly (Like Bud & Crawford)12:55 - Why Everyone Wants to Fight Shakur Now14:09 - Shakur’s Boxing Brain & Future in Broadcasting15:17 - The Imagination in the Gym | Envisioning Every Opponent17:15 - Having a Boxing Mind vs. Just Being Talented17:54 - Watching Film & Learning from Floyd19:11 - AD BREAK22:16 - The WBC Stripping Him of His Belt26:23 - The Devin Haney Fight | Weight Negotiations & Business Talk29:28 - Could Haney vs. Stevenson Actually Get Made?31:47 - Taking Callouts Less Personally | It’s Business Now34:06 - Conor Benn Situation | What Happened?34:41 - Assessing Conor Benn as a Fighter36:49 - Would Shakur Do a UFC Crossover Fight? Ilia Topuria40:39 - Does Shakur Like Being Famous? (Honest Answer)45:19 - The J. Prince Relationship | A Real Mentor47:11 - Managing Fighters50:33 - How Would You Beat Andre Ward?51:48 - How Would You Fight Bud Crawford?52:03 - Floyd Mayweather vs. Sugar Ray Robinson GOAT Debate54:09 - The State of Boxing Today55:20 - Biggest Lesson from 9 Years as a Pro55:47 - What Does the Rest of Shakur’s Career Look Like?56:31 - Thoughts on Adrien Broner’s Current Lifestyle58:39 - Floyd Mayweather’s Money Situation & Can’t-Let-Go of Boxing1:02:42 - Errol Spence Is Back | Thoughts on Spence vs. Tszyu1:03:45 - Shakur’s Message to O’Shaquie Foster1:06:07 - “I Don’t Run” | On Character & Integrity1:07:39 - Going Out on Top | Comparing Ward & Crawford’s Retirements1:11:21 - Outro
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Picking up where Part 1 left off, Virgil and Andre go all the way through the pro career. The 2004 Staples Center debut. The knockdown by Darnell Boone that nearly cost him an HBO deal. The frantic red-eye to Germany to lock in the Super Six tournament and opening the bracket against Mikkel Kessler at home, plus the collision course with Andre Dirrell that Bumper kept saying wouldn’t happen — and the moment Andre’s mind shifted on his own friend. Skipping Lucian Bute, beating Chad Dawson, and the two-year lawsuit that almost derailed everything.

Then the Kovalev story like it’s never been told. Virgil admits he was a fan of Sergey Kovalev before him and Dre ever fought. The knee that swelled to three times its size in training camp and ultimately getting it drained two hours before he walked to the ring. Getting up off the canvas in Round 2 and closing like a champion, and the decision the critics still argue about — and Andre’s full response to all of it.

And then, for the first time on tape, Andre reveals he knew going into the second Kovalev fight that it was his last fight — and never told Virgil. The phone call from Jack London Square the night before he announced his retirement. Virgil’s response, the investment lessons, the jewelry-vs-houses speech, and why Virgil refuses to be the old coach on a stump watching one of his fighters take brain damage for a paycheck.

Part 2 of 2. If you missed Part 1, go back and watch the origin story.
0:00 – Intro: From the Streets to the Pro Game1:40 – The Super Six Tournament & Moving to 168 lbs3:34 – Facing Mikkel Kessler: Setting the Tone5:22 – Patterns of Success: The Journey & God’s Plan6:23 – Financial Wisdom & Having an Exit Strategy13:45 – Virgil’s Training Philosophy & Locker Room Rules21:20 – Keeping Fighters Focused & Blocking Distractions23:00 – Cleaning Out Super Middleweight & Moving to 17525:20 – Preparing for Sergey Kovalev: The 3-Fight Plan27:40 – Knee Injury & Doubt Before the Kovalev Fight29:43 – Walking to the Ring: Confidence Despite the Injury30:07 – The Knockdown & Corner Adjustments vs. Kovalev32:06 – Breaking Down the Kovalev Win & Critics34:04 – The Rematch & Kovalev’s Decline42:32 – Ward’s Retirement Decision44:13 – Knowing When It’s Over: The Mindset of Retiring on Top46:22 – Financial Lessons for Young Fighters49:18 – The Danger of Eroding Skills & Spending Your Prime51:38 – Retiring When You’ve Proven Everything55:06 – Missing the Gym & Staying Away After Retirement
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