Andre Ward spent hours dissecting fight films, round by round, frame by frame, punch by punch. He was up until nearly 11 p.m. on the eve of his fight Sunday, doing the meticulous work to find gold.
The eight minutes of competition was the easiest part of the journey.
When the referee raised Ward’s arm to mark a 20-13 victory over Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus in the light-heavyweight division, the U.S. had a glimmer of redemption after failing to win gold in Sydney four years ago.
“He’s disciplined and mature, and that’s what it takes to win,” said Al Mitchell, U.S. Olympic boxing coach in 1996 and a consultant in Athens. “We should have had more guys like that.”
Trailing 9-7 after two rounds, Ward closed well. Following the game plan to stay away from Aripgadjiev’s right hand and box him by going to his right, he took a 14-11 lead entering the fourth and final round, then pulled away.
Ward, of Oakland, competed through the Olympics with a picture of his late father in his shoe. After the fight, he blew a kiss into the sky to honor his father.
“I believe he’s looking down on me,” Ward said. “I just wish he could be here so I could see his face in the stands looking at me. But that’s what God wanted so I have to accept that.”
Standing just yards from Ward, Mitchell framed the U.S. Olympic boxing quandary in succinct terms: The U.S. kids are undisciplined, inexperienced, not taught to fight in the international style and have their eyes on professional contracts before and after their Olympic runs.
The results, only two golds in three Olympic tournaments for a team that was once dominant, support Mitchell’s assessment.
Ward’s gold was one of two medals for a U.S. team with boxers in nine weights. Middleweight Andre Dirrell won a bronze.
