Andre Ward Biography, Age, Height, Parents, Wife, Children, Highlights, Records, Retirement, Net Worth & FAQs

Andre Ward Biography

Andre Ward is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal super middleweight titles between 2009 and 2015; and the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF, WBO, and Ring light-heavyweight titles between 2016 and 2017.

During his reign as light heavyweight champion, Ward was ranked as the world’s best active boxer, pound for pound, by The Ring magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), as well as the world’s best active boxer in the division by The Ring, the TBRB, and BoxRec.

Ward won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 2004 Olympics and turned professional later that year. He rose to worldwide prominence upon entering the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament in 2009, where he won the WBA (Super) super-middleweight title from Mikkel Kessler in the opening group stage.

In 2011, Ward defeated WBC champion Carl Froch in the tournament final to unify the titles, as well as winning the vacant Ring and lineal titles. That same year, Ward was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers’ Association of America.

He later won The Ring’s Comeback of the Year award in 2016 following a long period of sporadic in-ring activity between 2012 and 2015.

Andre Ward Education

Andre Ward attended Hayward High School in Hayward California, where he started boxing as young as 9 years old when his father took him to a boxing gym.

Andre Ward Amateur Boxing

He started boxing in 1994. In 2002, he won the Under 19 National Championship and was also a two time U.S. National Champion in 2001 and 2003 at middleweight. Ward finished his amateur career with a record of 115 wins and 5 losses.

Andre Ward Age

Andre Ward was born with his birth name as Andre Michael Ward on February 23, 1984, in San Francisco, California, United States. He celebrates his birthday on February 23rd every year.

Andre Ward Family

Parents

Andre was the son of Frank Ward, an Irish American, and Madeline Arvie Taylor, an African American.

After his parents fell to drug abuse, Ward was taken care of by his godfather, Virgil Hunter, who became his trainer and remained his trainer for the length of his career.

Andre Ward Wife 

Andre Ward is married to his wife, Tiffiney Ward. The couple first met on a trip to Washington state to visit his brother when he was 16. At the time, both were high school juniors, and their relationship quickly blossomed to a sweet romance. The high school sweethearts married in 2003.

Children

Andre and Tiffiney have four kids together, three sons and a daughter. He has three sons Namely Micah Ward, Andre Ward Jr and Malachi Ward. He also has a daughter who goes by the name Amira Ward.

Andre Ward Body Measurements

• Height: 6 feet and 1 inch
• Weight: 168 Ibs
• Shoe Size: Not Available
• Body Shape: Not Available
• Hair Colour: Black

• Reach: 71″ (180 cm)
• Chest (norm): 42″ (107 cm)
• Chest (exp): 44″ (112 cm)
• Neck: 16.5″ (42 cm)
• Biceps: 15″ (38 cm)

• Wrist: 7″ (18 cm)
• Waist: 32″ (81 cm)
• Thigh: 22″ (56 cm)
• Calf: 15″ (38 cm)
• Ankle: 8.5″ (21.6 cm)

Andre Ward Net worth

Аndrе Wаrd nеt wоrth іѕ UЅ$8 mіllіоn. Тhе mајоrіtу оf hіѕ іnсоmе соmеѕ frоm thе fіghtѕ hе раrtісіраtеѕ іn thе WВС, WВС, аnd Тhе Rіng. Іn аddіtіоn tо thаt, hе wоn а gоld mеdаl іn Ѕummеr Оlуmрісѕ іn 2004 thаt аllоw hіm wіn а bіg rеwаrd.

Аndrе Wаrd hаѕ gіvеn ѕоmе оf thе mоѕt mеmоrаblе рrоfеѕѕіоnаl fіghtѕ tо thе bохіng lоvеrѕ. Wе ѕtrоnglу hоре hе еnјоу а ѕіmіlаr kіnd оf ѕuссеѕѕ іn hіѕ rеtіrеd lіfе tоо.

Andre Ward Highlights

Amateur highlights

• 2001 United States Amateur Middleweight Champion
• 2002 Under 19 National Championship
• 2003 United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion
• Won the Light Heavyweight gold medal for the United States at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece becoming the first American boxer to capture gold in 8 years.

Results:

• • 1st round – Second Place at the 1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament
  • 2nd round – Defeated Clemente Russo (Italy) 17–9
  • Quarterfinals – Defeated Evgeny Makarenko (Russia) 23–16
  • Semifinals – Defeated Utkirbek Haydarov (Uzbekistan) 17–15
  • Gold Medal Match – Defeated Magomed Aripgadjiev (Belarus) 20–13

Andre Ward Records

• He is a former champion of a unified super middleweight.
• He has held WBA (Super) title from 2009 to 2015; the WBC title from 2011 to 2013; and the Ring magazine and lineal titles from 2011 to 2015.
• BoxRec, a Boxing website has named him the third-best boxer in the World, fourth by The Ring; and fifth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB).
• He was named “The Fighter of the Year” by both The Ring and the Boxing Writers’ Association of America (BWAA) in 2011.
• In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Andre won the Gold Medal in the light heavyweight division.

Andren Ward vs Rubin Williams

• On March 20, 2008, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, Ward defeated Rubin Williams by seventh-round TKO. Ward hit Williams with jabs and straight left hands almost at will, opening a bad cut over Williams’ left eye in the process. The cut would force the referee to stop the fight.

Ward faced Jerson Ravelo on June 20, 2008, in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, for the vacant regional NABO super-middleweight title. he dominated Ravelo for most of the fight en route to a TKO victory in the eighth round.

On May 16, 2009, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Ward defeated former prospect Edison Miranda by unanimous decision. The scores were 116–112, 119–109, and 119–109 for Ward. Ward showed he had an inside game as well as an outside game.

Miranda couldn’t stay up with Ward’s versatility around the ring. Miranda said of Ward in the post-fight

“I thought it was going to be easier, but it was tougher than I was expected. I don’t feel cheated. Andre is the champion. I have respect for him. Ward, who fought his biggest name to date said.This is kind of a bittersweet victory. I’m happy and excited because the fans had a good time, and there were a lot of people here, but I’m not 100 per cent happy with my performance. I’ve got to go look at the tape. I did some things well, but I felt I could have improved in other areas.“

Andre Ward vs. Kessler

Ward’s first fight in the tournament took place in his hometown of Oakland, California against Ring Magazine #1 ranked and joint tournament favourite Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KO) on November 21, 2009.

Kessler’s WBA super-middleweight championship was also at stake. Ward defeated Kessler to via technical decision in round 11 to win his first world title. Kessler was the strong favourite going into Showtime’s Super Six tournament.

In a career-defining performance, undefeated hometown favourite Ward put the U.S. on the board in the Super Six and captured the WBA super-middleweight title with a dominant 11 round technical decision over Denmark’s Kessler in their Group Stage 1 bout.

The fight was stopped in round 11 due to cuts on Kessler’s face caused by what was deemed unintentional headbutts by Ward. The fight went to the scorecards and Ward was far ahead by scores of 98–92, 98–92, and 97–93 at the time of the stoppage.

Andre Ward vs. Green

Ward, defending the WBA super-middleweight title, outclassed an opponent who spent most of the fight with his back against the ropes. Ward defeated Green by unanimous decision on June 19, 2010.

Though the 30-year-old gamely fought on, the knockout he needed to win never appeared remotely likely and he looked a spent man by the end as he picked up the second loss of his 31-fight pro career.

Throughout the fight, Ward out-landed Green by nearly 200 punches. All three judges scored the fight lop-sided 120–108 for Ward, who said post-fight of his win, “This means a lot to me. Couldn’t get caught up in the first defence too much mentally. Now that it’s over with, I’m ecstatic I was able to defend this belt one time. I feel like a real champion now.”

Ward stated his only regret was that he wasn’t able to stop Green, who turned up to survive. Ward advanced to the semi-finals.

Andre Ward vs. Abraham

Ward’s opponent at the semi-final stage was top 10 ranked super middleweight Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs). The fight took place on May 14, 2011, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Abraham entered having lost two of his previous three bouts.

Ward started out slow with Abraham, trying to find a way to penetrate his tight defence. After a competitive first few rounds, Ward seized control of the fight, using his ring savvy and instincts to control Abraham.

Although Abraham was somewhat passive at times, he gave an earnest effort and frequently threw combinations that were mostly blocked by Ward. Abraham hurt Ward a couple of times in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to finish Ward, who had dominated the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision.

The three judges scored the bout 120–108, 118–110, and 118–111. ESPN had it 118–110 in favour of Ward. Abraham didn’t believe he had lost the fight with such wide scores. Over 12 rounds, Ward threw 289 jabs. In total, he landed 178 of 444 total punches thrown (40%).

Andre Ward vs. Froch

Advancing to the final of the Super Six, Ward fought WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) in front of 5,626 at Boardwalk Hall on December 17, 2011.

Ward and Froch were rated numbers 1 and 2 respectively by Ring magazine, and the vacant Ring magazine super middleweight title was on the line, as well as Froch and Ward’s super-middleweight titles.

Ward won the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament via unanimous decision. Over the first seven rounds, Ward outboxed Froch, successfully using his jab to neutralize Froch and beating Froch to the punch from a distance and at close range.

Andre Ward Light heavyweight

Ward vs. Barrera

In January 2016, Ward’s light heavyweight debut was set against Cuban boxer Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) at the Oracle Arena. on March 26, 2016, on HBO.

Barrera was risking his IBF mandatory position in this fight. Barrera became mandatory to Kovalev’s IBF title when he stopped German Karo Murat in December 2015.

According to Ward, he wasn’t moving up in weight for the money, but rather daring to be great. 8,532 fans packed the arena on fight night. En route to a wide unanimous decision victory, Ward dropped Barrera to the canvas in the third round as he turned a left hook while on the ropes.

Barrera was also dropped in the eighth round from a body shot, but referee Raul Caiz Sr. saw it as a low blow and as a result deducted a point from Ward. Ward dictated the pace for the vast majority of the bout, showcasing good strength and ring generalship against Barrera.

The three judges scored the fight 117–109, 119–109, and 117–108. Ward landed 166 from 463 thrown (36%) whilst Barrera landed 111 of 722 punches thrown (15%).

When asked about the potential mega-fight against Kovalev, Ward said, “It’s never a problem. You look at my track record. I want to fight the best. I’ve always fought the best. Sergey Kovalev, he’s a great champion.” For the fight, Ward earned $1.85 million and Barrera earned a $450,000 purse. The fight averaged 1.064 million viewers and peaked at 1.152 million viewers.

Andre Ward vs. Brand

On June 28, 2016, Roc Nation Sport confirmed that Ward would fight once more before his mega-fight with Kovalev on July 30 against 39-year-old Colombian boxer Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KOs).

The fight was to take place in Oakland, California at the Oracle Center. This was the eighth and final time Ward fought in his hometown. Brand entered the fight as a 100-1 underdog.

In front of 8,653 hometown fans, Ward unanimously outpointed Brand to claim the vacant WBO International light heavyweight title. All three judges had the fight 120–108 for Ward.

Brand, who looked as though he came to survive 12 rounds, didn’t initiate any action, which ultimately led him to lose all the rounds on the three scorecards. Ward looked slow in the victory, not looking like the same fighter he was in 2011.

Ward dictated the fight however with a strong jab. This showed in round 7 when Brand’s right eye suddenly started to swollen up.[69] Ward spoke to HBO in the post-fight interview about fighting Kovalev next saying: “I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you in November.” This was Ward’s third fight in eight months, after only fighting three times from 2012 to 2015.

Ward landed 190 of 490 punches thrown (39%), and Brand landed 45 of 285 (16%). Ward earned a purse of $850,000 compared to the small amount of $30,000 earned by Brand. The fight averaged on 742,000 viewers on HBO. The dip could have been due to 21 million tuning into the Olympics on NBC.

Andre Ward vs. Kovalev

First Match

Ward fought the unified IBF, WBA (Undisputed) and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile Arena on November 19, 2016.

The fight was announced in June, with a rematch clause, and both fighters retained their undefeated records through interim bouts. This event marked Ward’s first time-fighting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After being knocked down in the second round, he won a controversial decision with all three judges scoring the fight 114–113 in favour of Ward.

Ward reiterated how the events of the evening unfolded, “I got off the canvas against the hardest puncher in the division and smiled. I took the fight to him and closed the show.” Ward received Kovalev’s WBA (Undisputed), IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles and became a two-division world champion.

Ward vs. Kovalev (second Match)

Kovalev’s manager Egis Klimas announced that negotiations had begun for the rematch between Ward and Kovalev. Ward threatened to retire if he didn’t get things “his way” for the rematch.

According to the NSAC, The T-Mobile Arena was put on hold for June 17, 2017, on HBO PPV. On March 24, 2017, Kovalev revealed via Social Media that he had signed his end of the deal. It was also noted that the rematch would take place at the Mandalay Bay in Paradise, Nevada on HBO PPV. On April 4, Roc Nation Sports and Main Events confirmed that terms were agreed for the rematch to take place on HBO PPV.

The fight was billed as No Excuses. Ward addressed the public by stating, “I’m going to keep it short and sweet. You got what you asked for — now you have to see me on June 17. This time leave the excuses at home.” The Las Vegas Sun confirmed the bout will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

On April 10, Kathy Duva said that there would be no rematch clause in place for a third fight, meaning whoever would win, would not be obliged to fight another rematch.

The fight purses were revealed before the fight with Ward taking a guaranteed $6.5 million and Kovalev, not having a base purse, would receive a percentage of PPV and gate revenue.

In front of 10,592, the fight ended with controversy in the 8th round with a victory for Ward. A right hand from Ward had Kovalev in trouble, which was followed by repeated low blows.

Tony Weeks stopped the fight, with Kovalev sitting on the middle rope, hurt from blows. At the time of stoppage, two judges had Ward ahead 67–66, whilst the third judge had it 68–65 in favour of Kovalev. CompuBox stats showed that Ward landed 80 of 238 punches (34%) whilst Kovalev landed more punches with 95 of his 407 thrown (23%).

Andre Ward Retirement

On September 21, 2017, via his website, Ward announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 33. In a statement, he said,

“I want to be clear – I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigours of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there. If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting. Also in the statement read. As I walk away from the sport of boxing today, I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it. We did it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has played a part in my journey. You know who you are. I could not have done this without you.”

Ward ended his career undefeated with 32 wins, 16 of which came inside the distance.

Andre Ward FAQs

Who is Andre Ward?

Andre Ward is one of America’s best-known and loved boxers who is currently retired.

How old is Andre Ward?

Andre Ward is 35 years old as of 2019. He was born on February 23rd, 1984.

How tall is Andre Ward?

Ward stands at height of 6 feet and 1 inch.

Is Andre Ward married?

Ward is married to lovely wife, Tiffiney Ward.

How much is Andre Ward worth?

He has an accomplished boxing career with an estimated net worth of $8 million.

How much does Andre Ward make?

Andre Ward attained $1.85 million once he fought Sullivan Barrera in June 2016. He earned $5 million fighting Sergey Kovalev in November 2016. He earned a career-high $6.5 million guaranteed when he fought Sergey Kovalev for a second time in June 2017.

Where does Andre Ward live?

The information about where he lives is still not known, however, he was born in San Fransico, California.

Is Andre Ward dead or alive?

Ward is still alive and in good health.

Where is Andre Ward now?

Andre Wars is currently retired from boxing.

Andre Ward Twitter

Ward Boys 😊 pic.twitter.com/zpNtxrH3Fi

— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) May 20, 2019