"Hopefully, over time, my skill and my ability and my durability and just everything that consists of being a champion, I hope those key areas will just be appreciated. I mean, I'm a work in progress. I've never said that I was the greatest and that I'm the best. I'm trying to get to the point where I can be considered one of the best in the world or the best in the world, and be considered one of the greatest in my era and, God willing, be a Hall of Famer one day and you do that by continuously winning...he's an option. I mean, Mikkel Kessler, a rematch with him is an option. A move up to light heavyweight is an option. There's some options out there for us right now...I think that obviously there's big fights that can be made, you know, Bute and Kessler, just the guys out there; a move up to light heavyweight. I don't know if I would campaign at light heavyweight or just take the right fights at light heavyweight, the fights that make sense...It was a great year and we're going to keep working hard. We're going to celebrate the victory and I'm just excited about my next fight and just 2012 as a whole. I just know that I'm going to continue to get better. I just want to continue to stake my claim as one of the best in the world," stated undefeated WBA & WBC Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward, who talked about his future plans after winning the Super Six tournament. You don't want to miss what else he had to say. Check it out!
BT: You mentioned people still have questions about you. I know Froch was talking some smack before the fight, saying he could lay you out with one punch. I forget which round it was, but well after the bell to end the round, he landed a clean right hand flush on your jaw and you just ate it like it was nothing. I think that right there pretty much answered any question someone might have had about your ability to take a punch.
AW: I mean, you know what? I don't know. It's just one of those things where people are kind of like just slinging mud and seeing if it will stick. Unfortunately that's something that has stuck over the years and it's always been a question, but man, we've been blessed. We've fought some of the biggest punchers in the division and, you know, we've been fine. I've taken some, but I've also been able to dish some out. I haven't had a problem in that area. I mean, I know that. I know what I possess and my ability, but it's just guys seem to always want to try me in that area. But all we can do is just continue to perform, Ben. I mean, I'm not a guy to get on the internet and start trying to talk about what I got; I just want to show it. I said it in the press conference, you know, when it's time to talk the loudest and when it means the most is in the fight. That's when I want to talk. I want to let my performance speak for itself. I don't want to get caught up into anything else. Hopefully, over time, my skill and my ability and my durability and just everything that consists of being a champion, I hope those key areas will just be appreciated. I mean, I'm a work in progress. I've never said that I was the greatest and that I'm the best. I'm trying to get to the point where I can be considered one of the best in the world or the best in the world, and be considered one of the greatest in my era and, God willing, be a Hall of Famer one day and you do that by continuously winning. That's all we want to focus on, you know? The element of people not believing in you, that's always going to be there. That element is needed. It keeps you humble. It keeps you hungry. We don't take it personal. We understand it's part of the game, but all we can do is just show up in the best shape and continue to fight the guys that they put in front of us and hopefully beat them.
BT: You know it's always going to be there if it's still there with Floyd after all these years.
AW: Yeah, and we're talking with Floyd, you know, over a decade; 42 fights later. I use him as an example a lot because what better example can you have than a guy who hasn't lost and a guy who's been doing this as long as he has and still gets a lot of it. So, it is what it is.
BT: That being said, you've now kind of put yourself in a position where you can pull a Floyd and say, "All roads lead to Andre Ward," at least in the super middleweight division anyway. Obviously there's a lot of opportunities out there for you. I know people want to know about that Lucian Bute fight, but you mentioned that you felt like he had to earn a shot because he's been fighting B- and C-level fighters.
AW: I mean, I'm not trying to knock him and his team, and with those fighters that he fought, he's done what he was supposed to do. He got them out of there, he looked good doing it, but I just feel like the right thing to do is for him to beat one or two good fighters. That's a fight that should happen and I believe it will happen, but at the same time, you know, let's be realistic. I said the winner of the Super Six deserves a chance to rest and to regroup. A lot of people just assumed that after this tournament, we were going to just rush into a fight with this guy and meet him in Canada. It wasn't time to really talk about it during the tournament because, obviously, I had to win the tournament first, but now that it's over, all we're saying is, hey, we feel like he should beat an A-level guy. He should beat 2 A-level guys. I mean, I've heard [Andre] Dirrell say he wants to fight him. I think that would be a great fight. I like Froch's chance in that fight. But he's an option. I mean, Mikkel Kessler, a rematch with him is an option. A move up to light heavyweight is an option. There's some options out there for us right now.
BT: How soon are you looking to get back in the ring? I know you injured your hand, but you also have a new baby on the way too, right?
AW: Yeah, my wife is 3 months pregnant. I think we can squeeze another fight in towards the last trimester. I'm going to get an MRI tomorrow morning at 10:45 and, God willing, everything is fine. I would like to get back in the ring April or May. I would like that fight to be in Oakland or Las Vegas. [NOTE: Ward's MRI showed multiple fractures in the third and fifth metacarpal on his left hand. He'll be in a cast for 2 weeks before starting rehab.]
BT: I know it's hard to make every fighter a pay-per-view star. Obviously not everyone can be a big pay-per-view star. I mean, Roy Jones had to go all the way up to heavyweight before he started getting that big pay-per-view money...
AW: (CUtting in) Even Pacquiao. Pacquiao fought on many undercards. And even Floyd. I mean, Floyd didn't really start getting to that point until he fought Zab, you know? And then he fought De La Hoya and De La Hoya really broke everything through, but he had been a champion for years. It takes time. You can be a great champion, you know, you can make a good living, you can sell out arenas, but it just takes time. I like to use Pacquiao and Floyd as an example. Those guys took time.
BT: I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned De La Hoya. He was the catalyst for guys like Floyd and Pacquiao. Do you ever look around your division and wonder who's your big super-fight out there? Who's your De La Hoya?
AW: Honestly, I hadn't even really given it much thought, you know? De La Hoya was such a unique individual. I don't even think that guy exists in boxing right now outside of Floyd and Manny. You have a lot of young guys that are trying to make their mark. You've got a fresh crop of guys that are trying to make their mark and make a name for themselves. De La Hoya was just a unique specimen. He was just very unique, his situation and his fan base. But I think that obviously there's big fights that can be made, you know, Bute and Kessler, just the guys out there; a move up to light heavyweight. I don't know if I would campaign at light heavyweight or just take the right fights at light heavyweight, the fights that make sense. But I don't know if there's a De La Hoya out there in boxing right now, again, outside of Floyd and Manny. I just don't think so. You've got young guys coming up trying to make their mark and I'm one of them. You know what, Ben? I'm just trying to take it a day at a time and understand that God has a plan for my life. I just want to max out in my career in my life. I'm not trying to compare myself to something Ali did, to what De La Hoya did, to what Floyd did. These are different eras, these are different fighters; times are different. I'm just trying to max out in my career with what I have and what the fighters that I have in my generation, so when I hang 'em up, I can look back and say, "Man, we maxed out." Maybe we didn't do what these people thought we should have did, or we didn't get to a certain point; I mean, I don't know. All I'm saying is I just want to max out with what I have. I got presented with the tournament, I feel we did a great job, we got our hand raised, and then moved on to a new chapter, but we maxed out. I can look back at that two and half years and say, "Man, we gave it all we had." If I can do that from fight to fight and from year to year for however long I'm left in the game, I'm satisfied with that. You know, a lot of people say "a star". I don't even know what that definition is. I don't know what that looks like. I mean, obviously, again, Pacquiao and Floyd, I keep bringing them up because they're basically the two biggest money generators right now. I guess you can call those guys stars, but when do you cross over? When do you cross that mark? That's not really for me to say. I just gotta keep winning, Ben. That's all I gotta do, and keep improving and looking better as we go.
BT: That's all you can do honestly.
AW: That's all I can do. This was a huge deal. This was a big deal. We were going to have to sink or swim in this tournament and we knew that, because I hadn't really done much other than beat guys that I was supposed to beat and beat Miranda, who I was supposed to beat. Other than that, we hadn't really done much, so I knew that this was it. This was our opportunity, and we felt confident. We did, we felt confident. We felt that we could win the tournament. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle. We knew it was going to be tough. We weren't going to overrate anybody or underrate anybody. We were going to look at each fighter the way they were, but we felt like we could do it. It was a matter of how many fights we had. I just thank God, Ben. I've been blessed with tremendous talent and I thank God for what he's invested in me in terms of my talent and my gifts, and it's my job to cultivate it by keep working hard and we're doing that right now. As long as I stay humble and keep God first in my life, I just believe the sky's the limit. I didn't plan for this to happen. I didn't plan for 2011 to be considered one of the Fighters of the Year or my coach potentially being the Trainer of the Year. I didn't plan for this. I just kept my head down and I kept working and I tried to always be firm, but humble in every fight that I had and, I mean, look what's happening right now, and I still think there's great things to come.
BT: I think you guys definitely deserve the recognition, both you and Virgil.
AW: I want him to get Trainer of the Year. I've been wanting him to get that for a long time. I've been wanting that personally for him and I told him that a couple of years ago, because he's one of the last of a dying breed of old trainers; guys who had to serve an apprenticeship in order to become a trainer.
BT: Well, it's been a heck of a year for my man.
AW: It was a great year, man. It was a great year and we're going to keep working hard. We're going to celebrate the victory and I'm just excited about my next fight and just 2012 as a whole. I just know that I'm going to continue to get better. I just want to continue to stake my claim as one of the best in the world.
BT: I've kept you long enough, Dre. Is there anything else you want to say in closing?
AW: First and foremost, I thank the fans here in the United States because they came from near and far to see the fight as a whole and to see me fight. A lot of people came up to me from the East Coast, but also people from the West Coast. Man, I'm thankful for that. I appreciate the support. And the UK fans, they came as passionate as ever for their guy, but when it was over, they were gracious. I met people the rest of that night, the next day, and even in the airport going home, who just gave me nothing but respect. I appreciate the UK fans and I love the UK fans. I appreciate them.
CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED PART 1 OF THIS IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW WITH WBA & WBC SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION ANDRE WARD
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