In the sports world, to find an elite athlete sans entourage is really something. But for a prizefighter, it’s highly unusual, if not downright strange.
But then again, no, Ward is not your average athlete or person. So when the Oakland-native came to visit our offices for a round of interviews with us and The Shadow League, flanked by a rep from HBO who apparently didn’t stay for long, the absence of a phalanx of handlers seemed fitting. He was dressed neatly in a black suit, white shirt and black tie — all business.
“The culture in boxing is such that if it’s not something negative or crazy, journalists don’t want to cover it,” he said of his demeanor. “That’s cool, but I’ve got to be me. And if people take notice of that, great.”
Ward spoke just a day before he was due to join the HBO crew to cover a double-header at Boardwalk Hall, which featured the return of the supremely talented Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux. He headed back to California where, presumably, he went to prepare for the final stages of attempting to break from his longtime promoter, Dan Goossen.
“The legal process that I’m going through right now should have no bearing on my getting back in the ring as soon as possible,” Ward wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday morning.