He faces World Boxing Council champion Carl Froch on Saturday in the finale of Showtime?s Super Six World Boxing Classic, disproving the legions of critics who felt he landed a spot in the field solely on the basis of his citizenship.
He?s proven that notion laughingly incorrect, routing pre-tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green and Arthur Abraham to get to the finals. If he defeats Froch ? and he?s about a 2 ? -1 favorite to do so ? he?ll likely be voted the 2011 Fighter of the Year.
And he?ll no longer be that anonymous low-key Olympian.
?One of my goals has always been for me to be Fighter of the Year and to get my coach [Virgil Hunter] Coach of the Year,? Ward said. ?It?s been a long time coming, almost 15 years of grinding and toiling when no one is around patting you on the back and there are no lights, camera, action.
?The lights and the cameras have just been coming around the last five, six, seven years, but we?ve been grinding for many, many years. [Winning Fighter of the Year] would be icing on the cake for winning this tournament.?
Ward had a bumpy path in his early days as a pro and there were plenty of detractors along the way. They looked at a steady succession of wins, but they didn?t see the blazing hand speed of a Manny Pacquiao or a Floyd Mayweather Jr. or the overwhelming power of a Mike Tyson.
They didn?t see a guy who had that one jaw-dropping skill that would identify him as a future star.
Instead, he was a guy who would do everything correctly, without flash, without fanfare. He was moved carefully, but was knocked down in his seventh pro fight by a journeyman, Darnell Boone. Ward got up and went on to win the bout handily, but that raised questions.
The questions have never stopped coming and, in that regard, promoter Dan Goossen draws a comparison between Ward and Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.
