In the world of boxing, Andre Ward is a well-known name. Anyone who has even the slightest interest in this game knows very well about Andre Ward. He is someone who holds multiple world titles. He is undoubtedly one of the best prizefighters in the world of boxing.
Although not much of a speaker, whatever little he speaks comes straight away from his heart. Even if you enjoy boxing just a little bit and haven’t heard of Andre Ward, then you must be living under a rock because he is perhaps one of the best prizefighters in history.
Curious to know more? Here is all to know about Andre Ward’s net worth and biography.
Table of Contents
Who is Andre Ward?
Boxing has been blessed with one of the greatest players in history: Andre Ward. Andre Ward’s birth name is Andre Michael Ward. He was born on 23rd February in 1984 in San Francisco, California, in the U.S. The African-American player plays for the USA. He has a nickname where he is called the S.O.G. or the Son Of God.
From 2004 to 2017, he was an active professional player. His first boxing experience was as an amateur, not a professional. He won a gold in the Olympics in the year 2004 in Athens and became worldwide famous as a professional boxer. He played under two classes of weights: super middleweight and then the light heavyweight, which are considered tough and dangerous classes of weights in boxing.
André is one of those players who has never lost a game. In his professional career, he won all 32 matches he played. A record of undefeatedness followed his retirement. Since he was nine years old, he has been boxing.
Biography of Andre Ward
Andre Ward is a former American professional boxer. Currently inactive, he played as a professional player from the year 2044 to 2017. He is an African American. His father was a white Irishman named Frank Ward, and his mother was an African American woman, her name being Madeline Arvie Taylor. He has a younger brother as well.
Ward started his boxing interest at nine when his father took him to a gym a registered him there. That was the starting point of his boxing career. He played as an amateur boxer up till 2004. in 2004 he won gold in Olympics in the weight class of super middleweight and became a professional boxer later that year.
A few years later, he moved on to the class of light heavyweight. In that category, he faced a feisty boxer Kovalev. Kovalev, in 2011 had punched one of the opponents so badly that he died.
In one of his interviews, he talked about his early life. He revealed that his father majorly raised him because his mother was a drug addict, but later on, he found out that his father was also the same, but even then, he managed to raise them. His father registered them in a gym, and after the death of his father, his trainer and godfather raised him and coached him throughout his career.
Andre has not talked about his personal life much because he did not want to disclose his parents’ identity. He married his high school sweetheart Tiffiney Ward in the year 2009, with whom he has several kids. He very much talks about the influence of Mohommad Ali upon his life. He retired at the age of 33.
How much is Andre Ward’s net worth?
Andre Ward, by the time of his retirement, had eight world records in his name. Ward was a professional American boxer who held The Andre Ring Super Middleweight, WBC, and WBA (Super) Champion record. He has a net worth of approximately $8 million.
One of his biggest matches was with Sergey Kovalev, which made him earn huge amounts of money, one in 2016 and the other one in 2017. After retirement, Ward has also worked as an expert analyst of boxing and as a commentator in 2015.
Ward has also made his acting debut in a sports drama film as Fanny Stuntman Wheeler. He also did his acting debut in 2012 with 24/7, in 2015 with Creed, and then in 2018 with Creed II.
Professional Life and Achievements
Andre Ward’s professional life has been crystal clear. He has an undefeated career in his record. He played a total of 32 matches in his professional career and won all of them with zero losses. His first-ever grand achievement was the gold that he won in the light heavyweight category in the 2004 Olympics, which kickstarted his professional career later in 2004.
Ward’s another big achievement was when he decided to move up to the light heavyweight category from super middleweight. He had to fight with the Russian boxer Kovalev who had been undefeated, and punched one of the opponents so badly that he died. Boxing is a dangerous match, and Ward was risking his undefeated career and was at risk of getting permanently injured. He defeated Kovalev, but the decision was very controversial. Well, he was able to keep his undefeated record.
Ward held the record of the Andre Ring Super Middleweight, WBC, and WBA (Super Champion). On September 21st, 2017, Andre Ward announced his retirement through his website.
Personal Life – Family and Marriage
Andre Ward has not talked much about his personal life. In one of his interviews, he stated that he did not like talking about his parents or his personal life because he wanted to conceal their identity and protect their names and protect who they were.
He also added that he did not want his story to turn into another cliche rags to riches story. In the same interview, he told about his family life and childhood. His father was a white Irishman, and his mother was an African American woman. His father raised him since his mother was battling drug addiction and was rarely present. But later on, Ward found out that his father had also been fighting the battle of heroin addiction. This battle became more and more intense, and things got worse gradually.
One day, their father got them registered in a gym, and that was the starting of his boxing life. After his father’s death, he was cared for by his godfather, Virgil Hunter, who has also been his boxing coach throughout his entire career.
Andre Ward got married to his high school sweetheart, Tiffiney Ward. They married in the year 2009 and have been married for 12 years now. In one of his Facebook posts, Ward posted a photo of his wife on the occasion of their 12th anniversary. He has three sons and a daughter with her. The sons are Micah Ward, Andre Ward Jr., and Malachi Ward, and their daughter is Amira Ward.
Interesting Facts About Him
Some interesting facts about him are given below:
- Andre Ward does not drink alcohol or smoke. He abstains from drinking or using drugs.
- Boxing has been Andre Ward’s passion since he was nine years old when his father registered him at the gym. Ward said he still has those registration papers with him in one of his interviews.
- He married his high school sweetheart.
- Virgil Hunter became his godfather after the death of his father and still trains him today.
- He became a professional player after winning gold in the 2004 Olympics.
- In 2015, he remained in a controversy when he accused Gennady Golovkin of declining to fight him.
Why did Andre Ward retire?
At the age of 33, Andre Ward retired undefeated. In 2017, he announced his retirement on his website. The reason he gave for retiring was straightforward. After claiming that his body could no longer handle the demands of the sport, he posted that he would no longer compete.
Andre also added that he could no longer give what this sport required, and therefore he did not want to upset his family, his team, and his fans.
He also avoided interviews and press conferences about his retirement. To his fans, his retirement was a shock. His legendary opponent, Kovalev, also had a mixed reaction to his announcement. With his retirement, an excellent boxing star stepped down.
10 Best Quotes by Andre Ward
“I am always striving to be a better man to God, a better husband, a better dad so it’s just work, but I am committed to it.”
“Even if you are sick, you fight until you have nothing left.”
“I am not gloating over Chad Dawson. He is still the man in my book.”
“You are only as good as your last fight. It’s just the way things are. It’s the way that the sport is built.”
“Every fighter is my toughest challenge to date. After I get done with one fight, the next challenge is the toughest.”
“The way my father raised me, we do not pat ourselves on the back. We do not call ourselves great, and we let other people do that.
“It’s not about size. It’s a science.”
“You can still entertain without getting a knockout.”
“Boxing is a lonely sport.”
“When people ask me, ‘what do you do for fun?- it’s my family. That’s it.”
Even though he is underrated, we can’t ignore his achievements and the straightforwardness he maintains. He is one of those players who is not afraid to speak his mind. Unapologetically, he talks about both his successes and his failures. The great player Andre Ward also has an equally generous heart.
