There are two proven blueprints to achieving superstar status in modern-day boxing, both of which Andre Ward is familiar with. You can be a brawler, a take-two-shots-to-deliver-three fighter (think Manny Pacquiao, who electrifies audiences with a rough-and-tumble style) or you can be colorful, blending superior skills with an outlandish personality (Floyd Mayweather’s calling card).
When Ward was 8, his first coach tried to mold him into a brawler. After a couple of workouts, Ward’s father pulled him and thought about never letting his son into a ring again. As for colorful, Ward has a palpable disdain for that approach, believing it to be a disease that has become widespread throughout boxing.
“I’ve set out from day one to do things that I’ve been raised to do,” Ward said. “You’d be surprised how many people outside of boxing have come up to me and said, ‘Hey, I appreciate the way you carry yourself. I’m going to have my son or daughter look to you as an example.’ That kind of stuff right there means a lot more to me a than gaining a few more fans, or writers saying, ‘Hey, this guy is crazy and we love him.’ Because if you look at a guy like Ricardo Mayorga, for example, he was a shooting star. He came in and made some noise and then he was gone.”
