
The “Son of God” is saying goodbye to the 168 lb division ... at least, for now.
Oakland native Andre Ward has vacated his WBA Super Middleweight belt, making his move to light heavyweight (175 lbs) official.
"I won the WBA belt for my first world title in 2009 and have defended it six times and it's been a wonderful ride with the WBA," Ward said. "Gilberto Mendoza and his team have shown me nothing but respect and I'm looking forward to moving up and hopefully winning the WBA light heavyweight belt."
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Due to swelling in his right knee, Ward (28-0, 15 KO) recently withdrew from a light heavyweight bout with Alexander Brand, slated for Nov. 21 on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. It was to be the first of a new three-fight deal with HBO, culminated by a superfight with LHW titlist Sergey Kovalev in late 2016.
Ward has fought only twice in the last three years, most recently on June 20 - a dominant TKO victory over Paul Smith in front of his hometown crowd at Oracle Arena.