The Art Of Ward

14 years later, Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch sits down face-to-face with Andre Ward. The 2023 Hall of Famer, 4-time super middleweight world champion, and one of the most fearless personalities in boxing pulls up to THE ART OF WARD for a conversation almost nobody thought would ever happen.

Froch walks Andre through the full story. From a skinny kid in Nottingham getting flattened on a rugby pitch, to walking back into a boxing gym at 19, to becoming a four-time world champion at super middleweight. He gets into the Pascal war, the Jermain Taylor stoppage with torn ankle ligaments and a scratched cornea three weeks out, the Lucian Bute destruction, the controversial first Groves fight he openly admits he was under-trained for, and the 80,000-strong Wembley KO that closed his career. And then he gives Andre what nobody expected: a flat-out admission that he bit Andre’s shoulder during their 2011 Super Six final, his read on the body shots Andre took that night that left him unable to move for a week after, and his decision to pull his family out of England for good and move to Dubai. He also tells the real story on Joe Calzaghe ghosting their planned exhibition, and weighs in on whether he’d actually get back in a ring with Andre Ward today.

This is one of the most loaded sit-downs in The Art of Ward’s run. Don’t miss it. Subscribe to All The Smoke Fight for more raw conversations with boxing’s biggest names. Tap in.
0:00 Intro — Carl Froch comes on the show1:35 How Andre and Froch reconnected through David Haye5:40 Froch on leaving Sky Sports and going independent5:59 Growing up in Nottingham7:23 Family background and his relationship with his father11:47 His unorthodox style and the four-year break from boxing at 1513:47 Coming back to boxing at 19 and turning professional28:00 The Jean Pascal fight — his first world title35:00 The Jermain Taylor fight — torn ankle, scratched cornea, three weeks out44:00 The Super Six World Boxing Classic — entering the tournament51:53 First meeting with Andre Ward at the Super Six press conference55:21 Froch’s honest scouting report on Ward going into their fight58:27 The 2011 Super Six Final — what really happened that night1:01:15 Froch admits he bit Andre’s shoulder during the fight1:24:11 Froch’s honest self-assessment1:26:01 The body shots that left Andre unable to move for a week1:27:45 Lucian Bute — the destruction in Nottingham1:31:58 George Groves — the controversial first fight1:32:32 Wembley Stadium — 80,000 fans and the KO that ended his career1:38:01 Would Froch and Ward do an exhibition today?1:40:58 The Joe Calzaghe exhibition that never happened1:41:27 Life after boxing1:45:29 Why Froch is moving his family out of England to Dubai1:50:11 Wrap-up
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For the first time ever, Tiffiney Ward steps in front of the camera on THE ART OF WARD. Andre’s wife, best friend, and the woman who’s been by his side for over 25 years opens up about the life she’s kept almost entirely offline. From growing up as an Army brat in Germany, to losing her dad as a teenager, to getting pregnant at 16 and being moved down to Oakland by Virgil Hunter and his wife Millie, this is the origin story behind one of boxing’s greatest careers.

Tiffiney pulls the curtain back on the moments most fans have never heard: their Wednesday-night bible study wedding, the contract Andre signed without showing her, the eight-week training camps that left her crying every single time, the surgeries, the lawsuit, the wink to her in the corner after the Kovalev knockdown, and the morning Andre laid on the bedroom floor and said “I’m done.” She talks about faith, motherhood, the Virgil and Millie blueprint, and what it really takes to stay locked in for 25 years inside a sport that breaks most marriages.

This is Andre Ward’s untold story, told by the only person who’s been there for every chapter. Don’t miss it. Subscribe to All The Smoke Fight for more raw conversations with boxing’s biggest names. Tap in.
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Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. break down a stacked Cinco de Mayo weekend that delivered everything boxing fans wanted. David Benavidez became the first three-division champion across super middleweight, light heavyweight, and cruiserweight with a dominant performance against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, and the question of what comes next is the biggest one in the sport right now. Roy makes a bold strategic call the Hall of Game audience will be debating for weeks: skip Jai Opetaia, skip every other cruiserweight, and go straight to Oleksandr Usyk while the iron is hot.

Andre and Roy also dig into Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani in Tokyo, where Inoue defended his undisputed junior featherweight title in front of 55,000 fans and broke Mike Tyson’s Tokyo Dome live gate record. They also react to the news that Errol Spence is officially back, set to fight Tim Tszyu in Australia on July 25.

Plus: Mitchell Robinson and Dyson Daniels get tangled up in the Knicks vs Hawks 72-22 playoff blowout, and Roy explains exactly why a Pensacola fighter was never going to take that lying down.
0:00 - Intro0:26 - Recap of Fight Weekend / Cinco de Mayo Boxing1:32 - Undercard Review: Sanchez vs. Chavez4:38 - Co-Main Event: Jaime Munguia vs. Armando Resendiz5:53 - Controversial Decision? Duarte vs. Fierro Breakdown7:41 - How to Score a Close Fight (Judging Discussion)10:55 - Main Event: David Benavidez vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez15:57 - Benavidez at Cruiserweight: What’s Next?16:47 - Canelo Alvarez vs. Benavidez: Will It Ever Happen?19:09 - Benavidez vs. Usyk? Exploring the Big Money Fights24:24 - Ad Break27:12 - Naoya Inoue vs. Nakatani at Tokyo Dome (55,000 Fans!)31:16 - Breaking News: Errol Spence Returns vs. Tim Tszyu35:22 - Knicks vs. Hawks Braw39:10 - Closing Thoughts on the State of Boxing
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David Benavidez sits down with Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. on HALL OF GAME just days out from his cruiserweight showdown with Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena on May 2nd. El Monstro opens up on the move to 200 pounds, walking around at 210, and what it means to finally own a Cinco de Mayo weekend after 13 pro years and 27 years in the sport. “Greatness is not given. It’s taken.”

Benavidez tells the story of sparring Zurdo at 17 years old for six weeks helping him prep for Arthur Abraham. Now they’re headlining a pay-per-view. He breaks down the speed advantage, why the punches that hurt are the ones you don’t see, and his promise to get the stoppage. Plus the rare father–son dynamic with Jose Sr., raising his own son Anthony in camp, and the threshold he says he’s about to cross.

In the back half, Andre and Roy go non-boxing on the Steve Kerr era apparently ending in Golden State — what made Kerr’s run remarkable, why he transcended his own game to fit Steph, and whether stepping away makes sense at 60. They close with a health update on Shadasia Green after she suffered a brain bleed against Lani Daniels.
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Hall of Famers Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. welcome Mexico’s first-ever cruiserweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez ahead of his Cinco de Mayo showdown with David Benavidez at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, May 2 (live on PBC Prime Video PPV). Zurdo opens up about the pay-per-view-level sparring sessions he shared with Benavidez, admits Benavidez has “weaknesses” he’s been studying in the gym, and breaks down how he plans to fight a volume puncher without matching him punch-for-punch. This is a Mexico vs Mexico fight for Cinco de Mayo — the holiday Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez held hostage for a decade.

Roy Jones Jr. delivers an untold story about why he refused to spar the #1 ranked Reggie Johnson in 1991 — the “I’m not teaching you anything” rule that shaped his entire career — and Andre Ward pulls back the curtain on his Super Six standoff with Andre Dirrell and why he had to “love him from a distance.” Plus: Andre’s honest assessment of Benavidez’s move up to cruiserweight, the riddle Zurdo has to solve that nobody else has, and why Benavidez gets the 60/40 edge heading into fight week.
0:00 - Intro0:26 - Welcoming Zurdo Ramirez — Mexico’s First Cruiserweight Champion1:06 - Zurdo on Fighting for Cinco de Mayo (After Mayweather & Canelo)1:49 - How the Benavidez Fight Got Made2:11 - The PPV Sparring Sessions with Benavidez3:33 - Benavidez’s Strengths: Pressure, Volume & Power3:59 - Zurdo Admits Benavidez Has Weaknesses (But Won’t Say What)5:27 - Training at 34 — Is Zurdo Still in His Prime?6:07 - The Julian Chula Relationship & Game Plan9:46 - Zurdo’s Message to Benavidez & the Boxing World10:10 - Ad Break11:28 - Ward & RJJ Debate: Will Benavidez Carry His Weight at Cruiser?13:36 - The Riddle Nobody Has Solved: Benavidez’s Unbeaten Blueprint14:06 - RJJ’s Untold Story: Why He Refused to Spar Reggie Johnson in 199117:35 - Ward: Why He Kept His Distance from Fighters He Might Face22:12 - Ward’s Full Breakdown of Benavidez vs. Zurdo25:22 - Shoutout: Ayahna Gonzales & Combat U at Sacramento State27:00 - Outro
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