Town Gold
An interview with gold medal boxer Andre Ward
Interview, JR,
YO! Youth Outlook, Nov 07, 2004
Oakland’s 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward shook the world when he won the gold medal in the Light Heavy Weight Division. The 20 year old Oakland resident who trains at King's Gym in East Oakland was rather humble about his success in the international boxing world, including his signing on to J Prince’s Rap -A-Lot boxing stable which includes Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Winky Wright, and Roy Jones, just to name a few.
Ward was the only bright spot on the U.S. Olympic Boxing team managing to win over the hostile Greek crowd. I got a chance to hook up with Andre to talk about his success and to hear some of the things that he has been reflecting on since he came back from Athens.
JR: What were you thinking about on the plane ride back after winning the Olympic gold?
AW: The plane ride back was beautiful. It sure went quicker on the way back then it did there. It was a job well done. I completed everything that I was supposed to do, from that ten year stretch ‘til now. I had nothing to complain about. I had a little lump on my eye but I wasn’t licking my wounds or nothing, I was enjoying life. I was happy. I wouldn’t say I was shocked but when everything that you been training for finally happened. It was kind of surreal at the moment. Along with that I was feeling a whole lot of joy, and a whole lot of thanksgiving in my heart, for God blessing me the way that he did.
JR: Do you feel like it was a lot of stiff competition at the Olympics?
AW: It was a lot of stiff competition; a lot of it, and that’s why I keep elevating God over myself because I didn’t have the credentials on paper. I definitely didn’t have the size. Everybody was bigger than me, supposed to be stronger than me but some how some way God equalized all of that. Everybody was kind of laughing and grinning, and thinking it was a joke from day one, but as we got closer and closer and I kept beating people that I had no business beating, they started feeling me.
JR: How did you get into boxing?
AW: I got into boxing through my father, he fought as far as high school. He was a raw dude. He was 10-0 as a heavyweight, and that’s my everything. So I looked up to him and I wanted to be just like him. He kept telling me war stories and I was feeling the war stories, and I had the same mentality and the same blood pumping in me. So I said lets do it. I gave him a nod, and he gave me a nod, and we’re here 10 years later. He’s not here with me, he passed 2 years ago, but I took the torch and I ran with it, and I was successful in doing everything that we talked about doing.
JR: A lot of people don’t know that you’re on Rap-a-Lot’s boxing label with Big J Prince, can you tell us a little bit about how you hooked up with them?
AW: J is a good dude, and he is a sharp man, and you can’t get to where he got by being stupid. So I’m just blessed to be around the man. I’m learning so much from the man. I’m stepping my game up when I’m around the man because I have to, And he’s just taking everything that I’ve done in winning this gold medal, and he’s running with it. He’s going to do everything that he can do as far as endorsements and getting the money, as far as making the right moves. It’s all in his hands. It’s in God’s hands first. But I believe God put him in my life so he could take it and run with it, and do what he can do with everything.
JR: Who’s on the label with you?
AW: In the Rap-a-Lot stable, we got Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones. Don’t worry about what just happened, my boy is going to be back. We got Winky Wright, he’s a world champion, Mark “2 Sharp” Johnson, the boxing fans will know who I’m talking about, but it’s about 3 or 4 major names. On the rap side we got Yukmouth, Zero, he’s out of Huston, the legendary Facemob. It’s a whole lot of cats. It’s a dynasty man, and J, he wears so many different hats that can’t nobody see him. It ain’t just music, it ain’t just boxing, it’s 4 or 5 different things that he’s doing. You got to give it up to him. You got to.
JR: What do you have to say to these youngstas that’s reading this?
AW: Get it. Don’t get it how you live, get it how you want to get it. Don’t let nobody tell you that you can’t do it, or tell you that your dream ain’t worth it. Man, them streets is not where it’s at. Them streets don’t lose to nobody. Listen to me. I know first hand. It might look good now, but I had to go through some things to get to this. And look up, because when you look up, you don’t have to worry about what’s to the left and the right, baby. Get it like that, you know what I’m saying?
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Ward was the only bright spot on the U.S. Olympic Boxing team managing to win over the hostile Greek crowd. I got a chance to hook up with Andre to talk about his success and to hear some of the things that he has been reflecting on since he came back from Athens.
JR: What were you thinking about on the plane ride back after winning the Olympic gold?
AW: The plane ride back was beautiful. It sure went quicker on the way back then it did there. It was a job well done. I completed everything that I was supposed to do, from that ten year stretch ‘til now. I had nothing to complain about. I had a little lump on my eye but I wasn’t licking my wounds or nothing, I was enjoying life. I was happy. I wouldn’t say I was shocked but when everything that you been training for finally happened. It was kind of surreal at the moment. Along with that I was feeling a whole lot of joy, and a whole lot of thanksgiving in my heart, for God blessing me the way that he did.
JR: Do you feel like it was a lot of stiff competition at the Olympics?
AW: It was a lot of stiff competition; a lot of it, and that’s why I keep elevating God over myself because I didn’t have the credentials on paper. I definitely didn’t have the size. Everybody was bigger than me, supposed to be stronger than me but some how some way God equalized all of that. Everybody was kind of laughing and grinning, and thinking it was a joke from day one, but as we got closer and closer and I kept beating people that I had no business beating, they started feeling me.
JR: How did you get into boxing?
AW: I got into boxing through my father, he fought as far as high school. He was a raw dude. He was 10-0 as a heavyweight, and that’s my everything. So I looked up to him and I wanted to be just like him. He kept telling me war stories and I was feeling the war stories, and I had the same mentality and the same blood pumping in me. So I said lets do it. I gave him a nod, and he gave me a nod, and we’re here 10 years later. He’s not here with me, he passed 2 years ago, but I took the torch and I ran with it, and I was successful in doing everything that we talked about doing.
JR: A lot of people don’t know that you’re on Rap-a-Lot’s boxing label with Big J Prince, can you tell us a little bit about how you hooked up with them?
AW: J is a good dude, and he is a sharp man, and you can’t get to where he got by being stupid. So I’m just blessed to be around the man. I’m learning so much from the man. I’m stepping my game up when I’m around the man because I have to, And he’s just taking everything that I’ve done in winning this gold medal, and he’s running with it. He’s going to do everything that he can do as far as endorsements and getting the money, as far as making the right moves. It’s all in his hands. It’s in God’s hands first. But I believe God put him in my life so he could take it and run with it, and do what he can do with everything.
JR: Who’s on the label with you?
AW: In the Rap-a-Lot stable, we got Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones. Don’t worry about what just happened, my boy is going to be back. We got Winky Wright, he’s a world champion, Mark “2 Sharp” Johnson, the boxing fans will know who I’m talking about, but it’s about 3 or 4 major names. On the rap side we got Yukmouth, Zero, he’s out of Huston, the legendary Facemob. It’s a whole lot of cats. It’s a dynasty man, and J, he wears so many different hats that can’t nobody see him. It ain’t just music, it ain’t just boxing, it’s 4 or 5 different things that he’s doing. You got to give it up to him. You got to.
JR: What do you have to say to these youngstas that’s reading this?
AW: Get it. Don’t get it how you live, get it how you want to get it. Don’t let nobody tell you that you can’t do it, or tell you that your dream ain’t worth it. Man, them streets is not where it’s at. Them streets don’t lose to nobody. Listen to me. I know first hand. It might look good now, but I had to go through some things to get to this. And look up, because when you look up, you don’t have to worry about what’s to the left and the right, baby. Get it like that, you know what I’m saying?
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