Floyd Mayweather has retired from boxing, but that does not mean that he is not following the sport that made him one of the richest athletes in history. Mayweather offered advice to former super middleweight champion Andre Ward and blasted unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
Ward, who holds a perfect 28-0 record with 15 knockout victories, is planning to fight on March in Oakland possibly against Sullivan Barrera, BoxingScene reported.
And if Ward wins in his next fight, he is expected to be linked to International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev.
However, Mayweather insisted that Ward should not move up to the 175-pound division just to face Kovalev for his world titles. The former pound-for-pound king thinks media and promoters just want Ward to taste his first defeat.
"Do I think that they're trying to get Andre Ward beat? Absolutely," Mayweather told Fighthype via BoxingScene. "Andre Ward, if you're reading this article, if I was you, I wouldn't move up to 175 pounds to fight the guy, Kovalo, if that's his name, because I really don't know his name. I know he's a light heavyweight."
Mayweather added that Ward should stay at 168 pounds and continue to dominate the division. He also addressed the talks about a possible bout between Ward and Golovkin, who is the reigning International Boxing Federation, International Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association middleweight champ.
Mayweather said that if Golovkin is really interested in the bout, he should move up to 168 pounds instead of forcing Ward to move down to the 160 pounds.
"You know, everybody keeps talking Triple-G, so I just started taking notice probably last year. If this guy Triple-G is so tough and so bad, you know, from what they say, then let him go up and fight Andre Ward," Mayweather said.
The 49-0 fighter took a swipe at Golovkin, saying that the unbeaten Kazakh has yet to taste defeat in 34 fights because he is facing fighters who are tailor-made for his boxing style. If Ward and Golovkin eventually collide, Mayweather is convinced that Ward will emerge victorious.
"He's good with a stationary target in front of him," Mayweather said of Golovkin. "When he's fighting a guy that's straight up and down with no special effects, is he good? Absolutely! But do I think that Triple-G can beat Andre Ward? Absolutely not. Easy pickings. It's going to be very, very, very easy for Andre Ward."
