Andre Ward BWAA fighter of the year

Choosing Andre Ward as the Boxing Writers Association Fighter of the Year Award was not difficult. In fact, you would’ve been hard pressed to find a more deserving fighter. How easy was the choice? The 27-year-old US Olympian dominated Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch in the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic last year.

Few boxers, if any, could boast that they fought two tougher opponents in such a short span last year.

"I want to thank God for giving me the strength to put in the work year after year to get to this point," said the WBA and WBC super middleweight champion. "I also want to thank my manager, James Prince, my promoters Antonio Leonard and Dan Goossen, everyone who is a part of Team Ward, including all of my family, friends, and loyal fans who have been behind me all these years. This award is just as much for them as it is for me.”

Ward’s great run actually started in May, 2009 when he easily out-pointed Edison Miranda. He followed that up with easy wins over Shelby Pudwill and Mikkel Kessler to finish out November on a high note. He started 2010 with a unanimous-decision win over Allan Green and finished it with an easy victory over Sakio Bika.

Ward was chosen over Nonito Donaire, Wladimir Klitschko, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

What’s next for Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) is anyone’s guess. There has been talk of a bout with IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute. Kelly Pavlik, Sebastian Zbik and Robert Stieglitz are all possibilities.