As part of our "Get to Know Andre Ward," we move now to Ward discussing the importance of his home city: Oakland, California. Like our first video feature, this came before Andre Ward decimated Mikkel Kessler in November 2009, during the first stage of the ongoing Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Ward: "I call myself a Bay Area kid, through and through, and for me to be able to do something positive and shine a bright light on the city of Oakland and the Bay Area as a whole is just an awesome feeling."
Next up, we'll show you the Showtime Sports recap of Ward's overpowering win over Mikkel Kessler, the fight that put the former Olympic gold medalist on the map as a professional. Coming into that fight, there were doubts about Ward's toughness, about how slick and talented he would look against a good fighter, about his power -- there were doubts, let's put it that way. Ward was seen by many as protected and coddled. Those questions ended after the Kessler fight.