Tony Bellew is of the belief, the former unified world light heavyweight champion Andre Ward is not actually retired.
On the 21st September, Andre Ward declared on all platforms of his social media that he would be relinquishing his WBA, IBF and WBO world light heavyweight titles that he captured against Sergey Kovalev in 2016.
He then made his first defence of that title by conclusively bringing to end his two-part saga with ‘The Krusher’ Kovalev in his final fight.
🗣️ "They call me the Hayemaker for a reason…" – @mrdavidhaye
💡 "You hit the lights last time, not me!" – @TonyBellew#BellewHaye2pic.twitter.com/Bt7c6HC2WC
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) March 12, 2018
Ward has flirted with the idea of making a comeback, he recently shared he was still training but was now at a much heavier weight close to the heavyweight limit of 200 lbs.
Bellew also made the climb into the heavyweight ranks from the lighter divisions and he has stressed that ‘It’s a possibility’ that the fight could come following his grudge rematch against David Haye on May 5th.
Writing in his column in the Metro, Bellew said “We’ve had conversations within the last six weeks. I’ll leave that to Eddie, but I highly rate Ward.”
“He does and sees things differently, but I believe I can beat him.”
“The only way Ward loses a fight is if he has an off day.”
Just come home from last session of the day to find the drug testers waiting for me! #CleanSport#BanPEDCheatsForLifepic.twitter.com/04YfePpSQc
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) March 13, 2018
“It’s a possibility I’ll fight Andre Ward after David Haye, and I need him to have an off day.”
“On top of that, I need to be on the money;” Bellew added.
“Not very optimistic, you say? No, I’m just realistic.”
“I’m not a fantasist. He’s better than me. But, if I get the tactics right on the night then I beat him. I will win if he has an off night.”
Quality over quantity! @SigBespoke#FailtoPreparePreparetoFailpic.twitter.com/1h61bCLmoQ
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) March 12, 2018
“We’ve spoken with Ward’s team. Eddie Hearn and the rest of the team have been in talks.”
“Ward may be publicly retired, but that’s not what his team are saying;” Bellew said.
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