Pound for Pound Boxing King Andre "S.O.G." Ward Retires

Undefeated Light Heavyweight champion Andre Ward from fresh outta left field just this morning, announced his hanging up the gloves and walking away from boxing at a mere-ish 33 years of age. The Bay Area boxer does-so with a 32-0 pro record with 16 a' them wins coming via knockout.

From his site:

"To the sport of boxing -- I love you. You've been by my side since I was 10-years-old. You've taught me so much. You've humbled me. You've promoted me. I've sacrificed a lot for you, but you've given me more than I ever thought possible. You gave me a platform, made me a champion and helped me provide for my family. I am forever grateful to you. You and I will always be synonymous, connected at the hip. Thank you for all the wonderful people I've come in contact with because of you. I've made friends for life. As I walk away from the sport of boxing today, I leave at the top of your glorious mountain, which was always my vision and my dream. I did it. We did it.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has played a part in my journey. You know who you are. I could not have done this without you. I want to be clear -- I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there. If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting. Above all, I give God the Glory, for allowing me to do what I've done, for as long as I have."

From his Twitter, he shared the message "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" with a link included to the above. Also, a video I might watch later. 

Most recently, Ward successfully stood up to the ultimately fragile bullying of Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (psychologically speaking) first winning by decision when the Russian gassed, then by 8th stanza stoppage whenst and wherein he then forced the gassing. That fight finale, as it stands (and I feel it may), secured he the WBA, IBF and WBO Light Heavyweight titles and The Ring light heavyweight title.

S.O.G. is too a former super middleweight champion, 2011 Fighter of the Year, and 2004 Light Heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist for the good ol' USofA in Athens.

Perchance the writing was on the wall here, with Ward's HBO contract having expired in August, his second Kovalev fight doing worse numbers than the first, and his burgeoning role of boxing analyst for Top Rank on politico whale ESPN.

Even prior to all that, we are dealing here with a very smart and articulate fella with much too much on the ball than to be relegated to suffering brain trauma to cash a check. I'm on the record as saying time and time again that there ain't no such a thing as an "early stoppage" in a prize-fight. Same goes for prize-fighting careers. As undeniably impressive as was his in-ring talent and career, if you were to tell me in an old blue-eyes fashion, "The best is yet to come." I'd buy that for a dollar. If it left me a few bucks for a nice stogie.

All told, I'm less shocked than many at this news. Then again, I also pay less attention than most. Although, I did mention the potentiality of this decision as early as early-on this year. Trust me, it's somewheres. He always struck me as a pug not married to being a pug.

IN ADDITION:
The latest podcast:
"I Was the Cook" Kaplowitz Radio: September 20, 2017