By: Hans Themistode
Over the course of boxing history, the greatest of all-time debate will seemingly never end. Most fans have planted their feet in the dirt and taken the side of one fighter over the rest of the field. Amongst them, the names that are often mentioned in those conversations are the usual suspects such as Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Ray Robinson, Roy Jones Jr. and a shortlist of others.
While former two-division world champion Shawn Porter agrees with those sentiments, the Cleveland Ohio native can’t help but scratch his head when the conversation is brought up. In no way, shape or form does he want to remove any of those previously mentioned names. Instead, he simply wants to add someone else to the mix.
“Andre Ward,” said Porter during his podcast The Porter Way Podcast Clips. “I feel like he’s a goat but people don’t realize that. This man has not lost a match since he was 12 years old.”
In the case of Ward, his boxing resume does seem to warrant his inclusion in the goat conversation. As an amateur, Ward dominated the competition to the tune of 115 wins against only five defeats. He easily crushed the field in the 2004 Olympics to bring home a gold medal and as a pro, Ward proved to be impossible to beat, winning every single one of his 32 career contests.
At one point, Ward was considered the consensus number one fighter in the world. After defeating former pound-for-pound star Sergey Kovalev in back-to-back fights, Ward abruptly walked away from the sport. He’s since left the door slightly open for a comeback but for the most part, he’s remained steadfast in his decision to walk away from the game.
This past year, Ward was rewarded for his boxing excellence with an induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame. But while Ward has always been universally respected and celebrated, Porter simply believes it isn’t enough.
“He was under looked and everybody expected this big blast when he came to the pro game and it really wasn’t a big blast and people started to really doubt what he could do. But after he won the super middleweight tournament, people started to recognize who he was. He went virtually his entire life without losing any matches.”