No fairytale finish as Ward loses world title fight

The 60-year-old was on top for the first six rounds of the inaugural WBC Veteran Heavyweight title fight with 6ft 6ins German Andreus Sidon before losing to a seventh round knockout.

This was the third time Ward has made a boxing comeback, but he swears that was his last fight this time around.

However, he intends to stay in boxing as a promoter and said he may even end up in business with Sidon, who has expressed a similar ambition.

It was agony for Ward to miss out on the world title, having dominated the first six rounds, despite going into the fight with a bad shoulder injury that will see him undergo surgery next month.

It was always a tall order with Ward conceding six years and 2st 8lbs to the taller German, who had beaten men like Danny William and Audley Harrison in the past, and also having to bulk up from his usual cruiserweight for the fight.

“He caught me, I went down, I got back up and I was okay and ready for carrying on,” said Ward.

“But the referee signalled it was over. I supposed with veterans they can’t take many chances.

“But for the first six rounds I was in front, I have the official scorecards and with judges one and two I was two points up and with judge three I was three points up.

“It’s one of those things and I am not going to moan and quibble. The best man won in the day and that’s it.

“I was out there scoring the points and getting in front.

“To be honest I have had harder fights. But he had good hands and he was tall. I knew what to expect.

“He just caught me. I was near one of the corners and he just came over with it. I tried to move but it caught me.”

That was Sidon’s 37th knockout in his 46th professional win.

Ward, still in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest active boxer, had battled on, despite his shoulder problem, but admitted: “That is me finished.

“I will not be coming back now, though I will be coming back promoting.”

“I go in hospital on 15th August to have my rotator cuff done. I have a 22mm rip in one tendon and eight 12mm rips in the other.

“It did hinder me. But that’s not an excuse as I went in there knowing I’d got it.

“They have already told me once I have had the shoulder done I wouldn’t be able to fight anyway even if I wanted.”

Ward was delighted with the fitness he managed to achieve in training for the fight and two days later wasn’t feeling too many aches and pains apart from the obvious one.

“I am all right, apart from the shoulder,” he said. “I woke up Monday morning and for the first hour I just couldn’t move it.”

Ward is now hoping a boxing promoter future is beckoning – possibly with Sidon as an ally instead of an opponent.

“I will promote here and all over England but maybe all over the world too,” he said.

“Believe it or not, Andreus, who I fought, wants to go into business with me.

“He said we are brothers. We are very good friends now. He is talking about promoting with me and that could be a really good thing as he has Czech, German, Lithuanian fighters, you name it, and I know all this side.

“We could end up with world title fights of the future. I hope we could get this off the ground – proper professional boxing, not white collar boxing, bringing it back in a big way.”

ROUND ONE: A powerful start by Ward saw him swinging for an early KO to get Sidon on the back foot.

ROUND TWO: Ward continued to advance and began to land punches and won another round, flustering the German.

ROUND THREE: A series of left hooks and body shots from Ward continued to edge him further ahead as he backed Sidon onto the ropes.

ROUND FOUR: Sidon finally began to come to the fore with his left jab as Ward’s early exertions and wild punches saw him begin to tire, though the home fighter’s defence was good.

ROUND FIVE: Sidon caught Ward with several body shots, but the Mansfield fighter stayed ahead on the cards.

ROUND SIX: The balance was starting to swing as Sidon hit a tiring Ward square on the nose and began to look increasingly dangerous and dominant.

ROUND SEVEN: The end was near for Ward as a close range right hook rocked him and, unable to escape from a corner, a right jab to the chin put him to the canvas where the referee decided enough was enough.