Andre Ward is one of few fighters to retire undefeated and was a two-weight world champion before his retirement, which a former rival says was conveniently timed.
Andre Ward retired with a record of 32-0, defeating the likes of Sergey Kovalev, Mikkel Kessler, Paul Smith, and Carl Froch.
One of Ward’s rivals claimed his retirement in 2017 was likely due to Dmitry Bivol‘s rise in the ranks, stating that perhaps Bivol was the man to hand Ward his first loss.
Carl Froch believes Andre Ward retired because of Dmitry Bivol
Carl Froch retired with a record of 33-2, and is best known for his domestic matches with George Groves. Of his two losses, he was able to avenge one against Kessler. He never avenged his loss to Ward.
It was Froch who said to Sky Sports that he believed Ward’s retirement was largely down to Bivol, who was 11-0 at the time of Ward’s retirement with just two wins coming via points:
“I have a feeling Bivol helped Andre Ward make his retirement decision and I don’t say it very often, but I’ve seen something in Bivol that I wouldn’t want to stand in front of.”
Froch sung Bivol’s praises: “I think Dmitry Bivol is going to be great. He has a cool and calm demeanour and he oozes confidence, but not arrogant or nonchalant, he is just relaxed. He is so precise, so accurate with his work, he’s lethal.”
Bivol KO’d Trent Broadhurst in one round after Ward’s retirement, and went on to great things as Froch anticipated.
Froch was proven right as Bivol bounced back from his first loss to defeat Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light-heavyweight crown in their rematch, paving the way for a much-anticipated trilogy.
Andre Ward responds to claims Dmitry Bivol scared him into retirement
In a response to a now-deleted tweet reiterating the claims of Ward’s retirement having something to do with Bivol’s rise, Ward responded:
“Neither Beterbiev or Bivol would agree with that take lol”
The replies to the post are full of fans claiming both Beterbiev, who was dropped by Callum Johnson, and Bivol would likely have defeated Ward. The fight surely would’ve been a great one, and with both at the top of their game, would’ve made for a great fight.
Bivol recently vacated his WBC belt as he plans to face Beterbiev for a third time instead of fighting David Benavidez next. Benavidez reportedly dropped Bivol in sparring once.