It hasn’t taken Anthony Joshua long to respond to the call out from retired two-weight world champion Andre Ward.
Ward became one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world during his career, claiming wins against the likes of Carl Froch, Sergey Kovalev and Mikkel Kessler on his way to claiming gold at both super-middleweight and light heavyweight.
He retired in 2017 with an undefeated record of 32-0, but many fans felt he always had more to give due to hanging up the gloves at the age of 33.
They could now get their wish, as Ward made the shock announcement on social media that he would be willing to end his eight-year retirement in order to move up to heavyweight and fight Joshua.
“There’s one name that I brought up before that when you say that name I can see myself fighting him. Present day. Today. If the business was right and everything was right on that front, me and Anthony Joshua.
“That’s a fight that I would take at Wembley Stadium. It’s a dangerous fight for my legacy, it’s a dangerous fight across the board. But that’s a fight that would get me in the gym and get me in the mindset that I need to be in to go to war. It’s Anthony Joshua. I know he’s getting ready to fight Jake Paul, I ain’t talking about that. I’m talking about a real fight.”
Joshua has now responded with why he thinks Ward wants the fight, referencing a famous quote made by Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.
“Pay Day Pay Day (Canelo voice).”
Joshua is a two-time world heavyweight champion, with wins over fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Dillian Whyte, but has suffered several defeats in recent years.
He first lost his world titles in a shock loss to Andy Ruiz, and while he may have been able to gain revenge in an immediate rematch, Joshua went on to have back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Last time out, he was knocked out in the fifth round by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024, and nearly 12 months on it’s still currently unknown what his next move will be.
It means a surprise fight against Ward could potentially be a possibility, although Joshua also remains in talks with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul for a shock clash too.
