Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr has shared his verdict on a potential showdown between Andre Ward and Anthony Joshua.
Ward sent shockwaves through the sport last week when he took to social media to make a sensational call-out to the two-time unified world heavyweight champion, despite him being away from the ring for eight years.
The 41-year-old from California defeated Russia’s Sergey Kovalev for the second time in June of 2017 to successfully defend his unified light-heavyweight titles in the process, going on to announce his retirement from the sport a few months later.
As for Joshua, the 35-year-old from Watford has not fought since he suffered that shock defeat to fellow countryman Daniel Dubois last September, falling short in his attempt at becoming a three-time heavyweight champion at Wembley Stadium.
Speaking on All The Smoke Fight, Jones discussed Ward’s potential return to the ring, as he claims he would ‘put money’ on the 41-year-old should he make a sensational comeback in the future.
“Listen, for boxers, this is what people don’t realise, and I used to use Evander Holyfield as my example. People always said ‘Well he got a hole in his heart and he got this or he got that.’ I said Listen, when Evander was doing all these things that we thought he couldn’t do, y’all wasn’t complaining, y’all was cheering and paying to see him right?
“Well how all of a sudden you gonna tell him what he should or shouldn’t do now? He was the person that made believers out of y’all … So Andre could have been out 10 years, if Andre says there’s something that’ll light his fire and make him go back in there, guess where my money’s gonna be at? My money’s gonna be with Andre.”
Ward admitted that the only fight that would tempt him out of retirement would be a Wembley Stadium showdown with Joshua, with the 41-year-old American stating he has been in the gym over the last few weeks and is preparing for what could be a monumental return to the ring in 2025.
