Andre Ward, a man many perceive to be the No. 2 fighter in the world pound-for-pound, hasn't fought since November 2013. Despite the long layoff, Ward said he is fine with jumping right back into the fire and facing Carl Froch in his next bout, and in England nonetheless.
But there is a catch. Ward said the fight must be at Wembley Stadium, and not Nottingham, Froch's hometown.
"The UK is one thing, Nottingham is something different," Ward said. "Now he's saying 'well, I came to America, now you need to come to Nottingham." Ward is referring to their 2011 fight at Boardwalk Hall, which Ward won by unanimous decision.
"The thing is this: Atlantic City, where we fought the finals of the Super Six, it's thousands of miles away from my home - that's a road fight. I live on the west coast, the fight was on the east coast, which was a six-hour plane ride for me.
"I'm not willing to come to Nottingham, I don't think I should have to, but Wembley stadium, the UK as a whole - I would love to come."
While Ward is held in higher regard, and owns a victory over Froch, his long stretches of inactivity, and generally low-key persona have kept Ward down in terms of drawing power. Ward's fighting style is also a technical marvel, but not always crowd pleasing.
This is why Froch feels comfortable dictating to Ward, and although Ward has resisted, he finally is acquiescing to some of Froch's demands in order to get back in the ring.
Ward is now aligned with Roc Nation Sports, which has also recruited WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto to their ranks. The typically reserved Ward is going on offense, and made a direct challenge to Froch.
"Carl - we're waiting on you to pick up the phone and call," Ward said. "If you want to fight, and you want to avenge the loss or attempt to avenge the loss that you say you say you so desperately want to avenge, then you need to pick up the phone and we need to try to figure it out."
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