‘Soldier of God’ Andre Ward is one of the few fighters to be able to hang up their gloves without ever tasting a professional defeat.
As Ward was able to survive a knockdown from Sergey Kovalev in 2016 in his penultimate fight, he was able to retire with a 32-0 record.
The former two-division champion Ward named Carl Froch as his toughest opponent as the pair met in 2011. In what was an impressive performance, Ward was able to extend his winning record to 25-0.
To follow on from the win over ‘The Cobra’, Ward took on a tough challenge against a fellow champion.
Andre Ward stopped Chad Dawson in 2012 world title fight
Looking to defend his WBA and WBC World Super Middleweight titles in September 2012, Ward would have his champion status challenged by Chad Dawson.
Dawson had a 31-1 record as he was coming off a decision win over Bernard Hopkins, and was the reigning world light heavyweight champion. The pair met in California, with Ward looking for his 26th professional win.
Despite the fact Dawson had faced and even defeated top quality opposition in the past, he was not able to offer up much of a challenge against Ward.
An impressive opening from Ward would see him put Dawson down in the third round. A sharp left hook sent the challenger to the canvas, but ‘Bad’ was able to recover.
The fourth round would once again see Dawson go down. Another left hook from Ward put the light heavyweight champion down for a second consecutive round.
Dawson would survive until the 10th round before Ward was able to cap off an impressive performance. Another left hook from Ward would stun Dawson, who eventually went to the ground thanks to follow-up punches from the champion.
Although Dawson returned to his feet, he asked the referee to stop the bout. After confirming Dawson’s decision, the referee waved off the bout. The commentary team said that the challenger’s decision was a ‘wise choice’.
Andre Ward finished 50% of his wins via stoppage
Ward was not a fighter known for his finishing ability, despite his impressive stoppage over Dawson. With 32 wins, 16 came by way of knockout.
In the opening six fights of his career, Ward won five via stoppage. Ward was able to continue good knockout form up until 2009, when he began competing in title bouts.
With his stoppage win over Dawson, it was the first finish Ward scored since becoming world champion.
The only other finish Ward would earn as a champion came in his final fight against Kovalev.