Ramos vs Rigondeaux: Andre Ward to Join ShoBox Commentary Team

Andre Ward continues to further his post-boxing career with another appearance on Showtime as a commentator. This will be the second time that Ward will be rubbing shoulders with the Showtime team. He was in the booth for the Super Six semifinal between Carl Froch and Glen Johnson.

On that occasion, Ward was the fourth member of the team, whereas now he will be replacing Antonio Tarver for the first two fights. Past experience for Andre includes announcing work for the World Series of Boxing series on Versus. If I remember correctly, this would be either Andre's third or fourth time being a commentator on a nationally televised fight.

It is very obvious that he wants to be a boxing commentator after he retires from fighting. However, I really can't remember anything noteworthy from his performance on the Super Six semifinals. Yet, if his interview style shows us anything, he should be a natural. In his interviews, he is very relaxed and will try to answer most questions even if they are a little insulting. On the other hand, talking about yourself is always a little easier than trying to break down two guys you don't know.

I hope some of Virgil Hunter's analytical skills will transfer over to his star pupil. If Ward can give the audience a solid analytical breakdown of each fighter before and during the fight, then he would be a welcome addition to any announcing team in boxing. I think that he can eventually become a good analyst once he retires, but I'm not sure of what the point of doing these things are when he is still boxing. I guess it's good practice, but it will be hard to make significant progress if he isn't fully committed to the job day in and day out.

One natural question from this discussion is which current fighter would make the best analyst? I think Bernard Hopkins could be great.