Andre Ward walks away undefeated and a pound for pound great.

Finally after cementing himself as the pound for pound best boxer in the current landscape, Andre Ward has decided to call it quits. This announcement comes off of the heels of one of Ward’s biggest fights to date, a rematch with Sergey Kovalev that saw the Russian bruiser fall by technical knock out.

As the dust settled from the rematch, Andre Ward was being heralded as the sport’s pound for pound greatest which essentially opened him up to making a tremendous amount of money moving forward in his career. Despite that fact however, Ward has decided to step away from the sport while he still has his health intact. Andre Ward told ESPN the following:

“People see what I do fight night,” Ward said. “They see under the lights, but they don’t see the toil, they don’t see the grind, they don’t see just the pain, the physical pain that you go through, not just in the fights, but to prepare and to get ready for those battles.”

This statement in and of itself just showcases the kind of mental and physical fortitude needed to compete at the highest level of any sport. Andre Ward just seems to not have that same fire and drive that he once had. When that time comes, leaving the sport behind is the best bet.

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Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.