The Art Of Ward

Black Effect x All The Smoke Productions
  • 5.0 (49)
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  • Updated Weekly

THE ART OF WARD is a series hosted by Boxing Hall of Famer and Chief Content Officer for ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT Andre Ward exploring the fight game from the inside out. THE ART OF WARD series is a tapestry of thoughtful content showcasing Ward’s personal, unmatched perspective shaped by his evolution as a fighter, a man and an influential figure in combat sports.

  1. 1d ago

    Andre Ward: ‘I Knew Going Into Kovalev 2 That Was My Last Fight’ | Virgil Hunter Part 2

    Picking up where Part 1 left off, Virgil and Andre go all the way through the pro career. The 2004 Staples Center debut. The knockdown by Darnell Boone that nearly cost him an HBO deal. The frantic red-eye to Germany to lock in the Super Six tournament and opening the bracket against Mikkel Kessler at home, plus the collision course with Andre Dirrell that Bumper kept saying wouldn’t happen — and the moment Andre’s mind shifted on his own friend. Skipping Lucian Bute, beating Chad Dawson, and the two-year lawsuit that almost derailed everything.Then the Kovalev story like it’s never been told. Virgil admits he was a fan of Sergey Kovalev before him and Dre ever fought. The knee that swelled to three times its size in training camp and ultimately getting it drained two hours before he walked to the ring. Getting up off the canvas in Round 2 and closing like a champion, and the decision the critics still argue about — and Andre’s full response to all of it.And then, for the first time on tape, Andre reveals he knew going into the second Kovalev fight that it was his last fight — and never told Virgil. The phone call from Jack London Square the night before he announced his retirement. Virgil’s response, the investment lessons, the jewelry-vs-houses speech, and why Virgil refuses to be the old coach on a stump watching one of his fighters take brain damage for a paycheck.Part 2 of 2. If you missed Part 1, go back and watch the origin story. 0:00 – Intro: From the Streets to the Pro Game 1:40 – The Super Six Tournament & Moving to 168 lbs 3:34 – Facing Mikkel Kessler: Setting the Tone 5:22 – Patterns of Success: The Journey & God’s Plan 6:23 – Financial Wisdom & Having an Exit Strategy 13:45 – Virgil’s Training Philosophy & Locker Room Rules 21:20 – Keeping Fighters Focused & Blocking Distractions 23:00 – Cleaning Out Super Middleweight & Moving to 175 25:20 – Preparing for Sergey Kovalev: The 3-Fight Plan 27:40 – Knee Injury & Doubt Before the Kovalev Fight 29:43 – Walking to the Ring: Confidence Despite the Injury 30:07 – The Knockdown & Corner Adjustments vs. Kovalev 32:06 – Breaking Down the Kovalev Win & Critics 34:04 – The Rematch & Kovalev’s Decline 42:32 – Ward’s Retirement Decision 44:13 – Knowing When It’s Over: The Mindset of Retiring on Top 46:22 – Financial Lessons for Young Fighters 49:18 – The Danger of Eroding Skills & Spending Your Prime 51:38 – Retiring When You’ve Proven Everything 55:06 – Missing the Gym & Staying Away After Retirement See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    55 min

  2. May 27

    Virgil Hunter On The Day Andre Almost Lost Everything: “You’re Going To Go Downhill” | Part 1

    For the first time ever, the man behind Andre Ward’s undefeated career and 2004 Olympic Gold sits down on THE ART OF WARD... and they go all the way back.Virgil Hunter, 2011 Boxing Writers Association Trainer of the Year, pulls up for Part 1 of a two-part conversation 32 years in the making.This isn’t just a boxing conversation. This is the full story.The day a 10-year-old Andre walked into US Karate & Boxing in Hayward and locked eyes with a quietly depressed Virgil, still grieving the loss of his first prospect. Frank Ward’s simple request: “teach my son how to hit and not get hit.” The years Andre and his brother Jonathan lived with Virgil and his wife. The crack era in Oakland that pulled Andre into the streets — selling rocks two blocks from the apartment where his own mother was using. The psychology Virgil used to pull him back: the guilt-trip phone call, the jailhouse intervention, the Hennessy bottle quietly pulled from Andre’s bag in Las Vegas. The James Prince connection. Marrying Tiffney young against everyone’s advice. Losing his father in 2002. And the 2004 Olympic Gold in Athens and how Virgil had to move mountains to be there ringside. 00:00 - Intro & Welcome Hall of Fame trainer, Virgil Hunter, to The Art of Ward 02:30 - The First Meeting & Frank Ward’s Request 06:02 - Virgil’s Depression & Why That Day Was Spiritual 06:47 - Building a Foundation Before the Temptations 08:30 - Andre & His Brother Move In With Virgil & His Wife 10:30 - Frank Ward, Andre’s Mom & The Mother Wound 14:00 - Battle Testing With Donaire & The First Fights 16:00 - The Silver Gloves Nationals & Curtis Stevens 20:00 - Sparring Pros at 13 & The Strength Behind It 21:11 - The Difference Between Andre & His Brother 21:57 - Drive, Tenacity & Being a Student of The Game 24:30 - The Junior Olympics & When The Streets Started Calling 27:13 - The Oakland Mystique & Virgil’s Focus Shifts 29:39 - The Psychology: Guilt Trips, Interventions & The Hennessy Bottle 32:06 - Can You Make A Great Without Sacrifice? 33:16 - Structure Is The Foundation of Greatness 35:33 - His Mother’s Relapse & Selling Dope Two Blocks Away 37:00 - The Prayers Working & Virgil’s Street Intelligence 39:41 - Structure Kept Him From Crossing The Line 42:47 - Virgil’s Diary Entry & The Full Prophecy 44:50 - Washington, Tiffney & Marrying Young Against Everyone’s Advice 49:04 - James Prince Enters The Picture 52:17 - “He’ll Win Us A Gold Medal”: The Guarantee To J Prince 53:22 - Exposed To The Life: Floyd, Roy & Dre Losing His Father 58:00 - Surrendering & Locking In For The Olympics 01:00:10 - “You Don’t Think I Can Get You To Athens?“: The Faith Moment 01:02:35 - Front Row Tickets & God Paying For The Whole Trip 01:08:13 - The Last American Male Olympic Gold & USA Boxing’s Problem 01:11:24 - It Takes A Team & No Great Man Stands Alone 01:13:34 - Body Language, Technical Ability & What Wins At The Highest Level 01:16:46 - The Decision That Shook Everything Up See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 16m

  3. May 19

    Carl Froch On Biting Andre Ward, Calzaghe Ghosting Him & Leaving The UK

    14 years later, Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch sits down face-to-face with Andre Ward. The 2023 Hall of Famer, 4-time super middleweight world champion, and one of the most fearless personalities in boxing pulls up to THE ART OF WARD for a conversation almost nobody thought would ever happen.Froch walks Andre through the full story. From a skinny kid in Nottingham getting flattened on a rugby pitch, to walking back into a boxing gym at 19, to becoming a four-time world champion at super middleweight. He gets into the Pascal war, the Jermain Taylor stoppage with torn ankle ligaments and a scratched cornea three weeks out, the Lucian Bute destruction, the controversial first Groves fight he openly admits he was under-trained for, and the 80,000-strong Wembley KO that closed his career. And then he gives Andre what nobody expected: a flat-out admission that he bit Andre’s shoulder during their 2011 Super Six final, his read on the body shots Andre took that night that left him unable to move for a week after, and his decision to pull his family out of England for good and move to Dubai. He also tells the real story on Joe Calzaghe ghosting their planned exhibition, and weighs in on whether he’d actually get back in a ring with Andre Ward today.This is one of the most loaded sit-downs in The Art of Ward’s run. Don’t miss it. Subscribe to All The Smoke Fight for more raw conversations with boxing’s biggest names. Tap in. 0:00 Intro — Carl Froch comes on the show 1:35 How Andre and Froch reconnected through David Haye 5:40 Froch on leaving Sky Sports and going independent 5:59 Growing up in Nottingham 7:23 Family background and his relationship with his father 11:47 His unorthodox style and the four-year break from boxing at 15 13:47 Coming back to boxing at 19 and turning professional 28:00 The Jean Pascal fight — his first world title 35:00 The Jermain Taylor fight — torn ankle, scratched cornea, three weeks out 44:00 The Super Six World Boxing Classic — entering the tournament 51:53 First meeting with Andre Ward at the Super Six press conference 55:21 Froch’s honest scouting report on Ward going into their fight 58:27 The 2011 Super Six Final — what really happened that night 1:01:15 Froch admits he bit Andre’s shoulder during the fight 1:24:11 Froch’s honest self-assessment 1:26:01 The body shots that left Andre unable to move for a week 1:27:45 Lucian Bute — the destruction in Nottingham 1:31:58 George Groves — the controversial first fight 1:32:32 Wembley Stadium — 80,000 fans and the KO that ended his career 1:38:01 Would Froch and Ward do an exhibition today? 1:40:58 The Joe Calzaghe exhibition that never happened 1:41:27 Life after boxing 1:45:29 Why Froch is moving his family out of England to Dubai 1:50:11 Wrap-up See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 51m

  4. May 14

    Lady Ward: Teenage Pregnancy, Virg Saved Us & The 'I'm Done' Retirement Moment

    For the first time ever, Tiffiney Ward steps in front of the camera on THE ART OF WARD. Andre’s wife, best friend, and the woman who’s been by his side for over 25 years opens up about the life she’s kept almost entirely offline. From growing up as an Army brat in Germany, to losing her dad as a teenager, to getting pregnant at 16 and being moved down to Oakland by Virgil Hunter and his wife Millie, this is the origin story behind one of boxing’s greatest careers.Tiffiney pulls the curtain back on the moments most fans have never heard: their Wednesday-night bible study wedding, the contract Andre signed without showing her, the eight-week training camps that left her crying every single time, the surgeries, the lawsuit, the wink to her in the corner after the Kovalev knockdown, and the morning Andre laid on the bedroom floor and said “I’m done.” She talks about faith, motherhood, the Virgil and Millie blueprint, and what it really takes to stay locked in for 25 years inside a sport that breaks most marriages.This is Andre Ward’s untold story, told by the only person who’s been there for every chapter. Don’t miss it. Subscribe to All The Smoke Fight for more raw conversations with boxing’s biggest names. Tap in. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 39m

  5. May 5

    Benavidez Should Fight Usyk Next, Errol Spence Returns vs Tszyu & Inoue Breaks Tyson’s Record

    Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. break down a stacked Cinco de Mayo weekend that delivered everything boxing fans wanted. David Benavidez became the first three-division champion across super middleweight, light heavyweight, and cruiserweight with a dominant performance against Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, and the question of what comes next is the biggest one in the sport right now. Roy makes a bold strategic call the Hall of Game audience will be debating for weeks: skip Jai Opetaia, skip every other cruiserweight, and go straight to Oleksandr Usyk while the iron is hot.Andre and Roy also dig into Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani in Tokyo, where Inoue defended his undisputed junior featherweight title in front of 55,000 fans and broke Mike Tyson’s Tokyo Dome live gate record. They also react to the news that Errol Spence is officially back, set to fight Tim Tszyu in Australia on July 25.Plus: Mitchell Robinson and Dyson Daniels get tangled up in the Knicks vs Hawks 72-22 playoff blowout, and Roy explains exactly why a Pensacola fighter was never going to take that lying down. 0:00 - Intro 0:26 - Recap of Fight Weekend / Cinco de Mayo Boxing 1:32 - Undercard Review: Sanchez vs. Chavez 4:38 - Co-Main Event: Jaime Munguia vs. Armando Resendiz 5:53 - Controversial Decision? Duarte vs. Fierro Breakdown 7:41 - How to Score a Close Fight (Judging Discussion) 10:55 - Main Event: David Benavidez vs. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez 15:57 - Benavidez at Cruiserweight: What’s Next? 16:47 - Canelo Alvarez vs. Benavidez: Will It Ever Happen? 19:09 - Benavidez vs. Usyk? Exploring the Big Money Fights 24:24 - Ad Break 27:12 - Naoya Inoue vs. Nakatani at Tokyo Dome (55,000 Fans!) 31:16 - Breaking News: Errol Spence Returns vs. Tim Tszyu 35:22 - Knicks vs. Hawks Braw 39:10 - Closing Thoughts on the State of Boxing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    38 min

  6. Apr 28

    David Benavidez: The $3K Zurdo Sparring Story, Cinco de Mayo Takeover & Stoppage Promise

    David Benavidez sits down with Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. on HALL OF GAME just days out from his cruiserweight showdown with Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at T-Mobile Arena on May 2nd. El Monstro opens up on the move to 200 pounds, walking around at 210, and what it means to finally own a Cinco de Mayo weekend after 13 pro years and 27 years in the sport. “Greatness is not given. It’s taken.”Benavidez tells the story of sparring Zurdo at 17 years old for six weeks helping him prep for Arthur Abraham. Now they’re headlining a pay-per-view. He breaks down the speed advantage, why the punches that hurt are the ones you don’t see, and his promise to get the stoppage. Plus the rare father–son dynamic with Jose Sr., raising his own son Anthony in camp, and the threshold he says he’s about to cross.In the back half, Andre and Roy go non-boxing on the Steve Kerr era apparently ending in Golden State — what made Kerr’s run remarkable, why he transcended his own game to fit Steph, and whether stepping away makes sense at 60. They close with a health update on Shadasia Green after she suffered a brain bleed against Lani Daniels. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    30 min

  7. Apr 21

    Zurdo Ramirez: Benavidez’s Weaknesses, Their Sparring War & Mexico vs Mexico on May 2

    Hall of Famers Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. welcome Mexico’s first-ever cruiserweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez ahead of his Cinco de Mayo showdown with David Benavidez at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, May 2 (live on PBC Prime Video PPV). Zurdo opens up about the pay-per-view-level sparring sessions he shared with Benavidez, admits Benavidez has “weaknesses” he’s been studying in the gym, and breaks down how he plans to fight a volume puncher without matching him punch-for-punch. This is a Mexico vs Mexico fight for Cinco de Mayo — the holiday Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez held hostage for a decade.Roy Jones Jr. delivers an untold story about why he refused to spar the #1 ranked Reggie Johnson in 1991 — the “I’m not teaching you anything” rule that shaped his entire career — and Andre Ward pulls back the curtain on his Super Six standoff with Andre Dirrell and why he had to “love him from a distance.” Plus: Andre’s honest assessment of Benavidez’s move up to cruiserweight, the riddle Zurdo has to solve that nobody else has, and why Benavidez gets the 60/40 edge heading into fight week. 0:00 - Intro 0:26 - Welcoming Zurdo Ramirez — Mexico’s First Cruiserweight Champion 1:06 - Zurdo on Fighting for Cinco de Mayo (After Mayweather & Canelo) 1:49 - How the Benavidez Fight Got Made 2:11 - The PPV Sparring Sessions with Benavidez 3:33 - Benavidez’s Strengths: Pressure, Volume & Power 3:59 - Zurdo Admits Benavidez Has Weaknesses (But Won’t Say What) 5:27 - Training at 34 — Is Zurdo Still in His Prime? 6:07 - The Julian Chula Relationship & Game Plan 9:46 - Zurdo’s Message to Benavidez & the Boxing World 10:10 - Ad Break 11:28 - Ward & RJJ Debate: Will Benavidez Carry His Weight at Cruiser? 13:36 - The Riddle Nobody Has Solved: Benavidez’s Unbeaten Blueprint 14:06 - RJJ’s Untold Story: Why He Refused to Spar Reggie Johnson in 1991 17:35 - Ward: Why He Kept His Distance from Fighters He Might Face 22:12 - Ward’s Full Breakdown of Benavidez vs. Zurdo 25:22 - Shoutout: Ayahna Gonzales & Combat U at Sacramento State 27:00 - Outro See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    26 min

  8. Apr 16

    Xander Zayas: Super Bowl with Bad Bunny, Boots Ennis Showdown & Untold Stories

    Unified 154-pound champion Xander Zayas sits down with Ak & Barak on RING CHAMPS for his most personal interview yet. The 23-year-old Puerto Rican star opens up about being bullied as a kid, his mom putting him in boxing to defend himself, getting beat up by a girl in the gym, and the moment everything clicked. Xander reveals the real story behind his stepdad becoming his father figure and how a single conversation about work ethic changed the trajectory of his career from natural talent to #1 in the nation.On the fight side, Xander breaks down his upcoming mega fight against Jaron “Boots” Ennis on June 27th at Barclays Center, revealing what worries him about Boots and why he believes Ennis has never truly been made uncomfortable. He exposes the real details behind the failed Vergil Ortiz negotiations, fires back at Shawn Porter’s “easy work” sparring claims, shares his thoughts on Devin Haney at 154, and gives his Benavidez vs Ramirez prediction. Plus: the full inside story of performing in the Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin making him emotional, meeting Lady Gaga, and a tease about a potential Bad Bunny walkout on fight night. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    54 min
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5
out of 5
49 Ratings

About

THE ART OF WARD is a series hosted by Boxing Hall of Famer and Chief Content Officer for ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT Andre Ward exploring the fight game from the inside out. THE ART OF WARD series is a tapestry of thoughtful content showcasing Ward’s personal, unmatched perspective shaped by his evolution as a fighter, a man and an influential figure in combat sports.

Information

  • Creator
    Black Effect x All The Smoke Productions
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
  • Show Website
    The Art Of Ward

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