Andre Ward: 'I Will Speak Loud and Clear'

Andre Ward and Edison Miranda are polar opposites outside of the ring. While Miranda loves to talk an enormous amount of trash to help sell a fight, Ward prefers to let his fist do the talking come fight night.

That's not to say that Miranda hasn't gotten under Ward's skin in the weeks leading up to their May 16 super middleweight bout on Showtime. He surely has, but regardless, Ward continues to brush his opponent's comments aside, while simply vowing to make him "pay for that" come Saturday night.

FanHouse spoke to the 2004 Olympic gold medalist about the Miranda's comments and his climb up the 168-pound ladder. The full interview is after the jump.

Ariel Helwani: Edison Miranda has done a lot of trash-talking in the weeks leading up to this fight, yet you have chosen to take the high road. How difficult has it been for you to do that?
Andre Ward: It's not too difficult. I mean, this is what this guy does. From time to time, he makes a fool of himself by talking like this, and on two occasions he's done it and hasn't come through. So, this will be the third time, and I really don't have time to call Web sites and really do too much talking. I'm focused and grinding, man. I'm down here working hard and I'm resting and preparing for my next grind. So, I really don't have time, and I don't know where he gets the time to do all this talking on these Internets and stuff like that, but like I said before, I will speak loud and clear on May 16.

In the April press conference, he said, "Andre doesn't have the heart of a champion. He is holding onto his one achievement, the Olympic gold medal, but that is all he will ever achieve." Doesn't that really bug you?
I hope he's not jealous - that wouldn't be right. He's going to have his time to put up and back up what he's saying. Like I've stated, I'm taking him at his word. You know, if somebody comes at you saying that he's going to hurt you, you take them at their word. So, I'm taking him at his word, and I'm preparing for a tremendous battle May 16. I'm prepared to dominate this fight from start to finish. So, I just think that he's digging himself in a deep hole. I mean, I don't know if he is necessarily hyping the fight, or he just can't help himself.

He also said that you have not fought anyone as talented as him. Would you actually agree with that statement?
Yeah. Absolutely. I don't think he's fought much of anybody besides the top guys that we know. I mean, he's fought (Arthur) Abraham twice; he's fought Kelly Pavlik; he's fought Allan Green; he fought an old trial horse in Howard Eastman. Other than that, who else is on his resume? He kept making comments at the press conference about the heart of a champion; well, he's not a champion. He's had several chances to get in that spot, and he's blown it. So, yes, technically on paper, each fight that I've been fighting is technically a step up for me, and he has to prove that he can get past me, as well. Just like he wants my name on his resume, I want Edison Miranda on my resume, too. Trust me, don't think my silence is passivity. Everybody will see on May 16 that it's far from that. I just choose to go about my business in a different way.

Do you ever feel any extra-added pressure to hype yourself up or talk some trash because that usually helps sell tickets and draw attention to you?
Listen man, it's well publicized that I'm a Christian. I'm not an athlete who happens to be a Christian; I'm a Christian who happens to be athlete. So, the way I represent God and the way I carry myself before him is first and foremost. I got an article that a local writer, Monte Pool, wrote about me just about how I'm upholding my integrity, not just for this fight, but for several fights before. I'm just going about my business in a classy way, and I really appreciated that article. A gentleman from my Church walked up to my wife with tears in his eyes just telling her how much he appreciated that and how much that encouraged him. If I can get one person to do that, that far out-weighs anything else that talking trash can do.

People try to put pressure on me to say this or say that, but I'm not giving into the pressure, because at the end of the day, I want to stand before God and ask him, 'How did I do?' Other people and their opinions, they're not going to help me at the end of the day. So, my main focus is representing God at the end of the day, and being a fierce competitor. At the same time, let other young fighters know, and let the general public know that I know boxing has a black eye and that there is a stigma attached to the sport, but every fighter doesn't have to act this way. Every fighter doesn't have to get silly, and say stupid things, and really embarrass himself just for a fight. We gotta fight regardless, so why would I do all the trash-talking? I don't mind guys getting competitive, but Miranda takes it way too far; everybody knows that. But once again, he'll have to pay for that May 16.

Have you ever received any criticism from your fellow Church members because you compete in such a violent sport?
No, I don't think so. I think that God has warriors everywhere. Football is violent. Basketball is obviously not on the level of football or boxing, but it is to a degree a contact sport. I think God has agents everywhere. I can't give you a whole rundown on how God feels about boxing, but I do know that he's allowed me to do this. I do know that he's given me a platform in this boxing game, and I want to use it to the best of my ability. I want to glorify him along my journey, so when the day that he says, 'Hey, it's time to move on to something else,' I know that I've maxed out and given him my all.

One of the highlights of Miranda's career was his brutal third-round knockout of David Banks in January 2008. Did that impress you?
Banks is a junior middleweight who can probably make welterweight. He's not a full-fledged 168-pounder. I respect (Miranda's) strength; he's a strong guy. He's going to bring it, and he has good punching power, but let's be realistic: he knocked out a smaller man - a way smaller man. Edison Miranda needs you in one spot. He needs you to stand still so he can line you up in order for him to get his right hand off. I just think that I'm going to bring something to the table that he's never seen before. Allan Green and even Arthur Abraham are good fighters, but they haven't shown him the speed, the legs and certain things that I'm going to show him. I think he's also going to be shocked at how strong I am.

A lot of the talk leading up to this fight has been that this could be your coming out party as a pro. You're currently 18-0 with 12 knockouts. Do you feel as though people aren't giving you enough respect for what you have already accomplished?
I think so. I put that gold medal behind me a long time ago. That's another mistake that my opponents make: they ride the gold medal like I am coming in on a white horse with a silver spoon in my mouth, and everybody should get out of my way because I'm a Gold Medalist. I understand that I got to earn this thing, and I want to earn it. I not only want to become a champion, I want to reign as a champion. You have to earn your way to the top. I don't want to be a shooting star. So, that's the misconception right there.

But to answer you question, I don't think the respect is there. I think that some of the reporters and naysayers don't know how to define my style, so they classify me as just a boxer. It looks easy, so they sometimes take that as not putting forth the effort. I'm not getting hit and punished in every fight, so sometimes they say it's not exciting. But once again, I prepare myself and train tremendously hard to dominate fights. Sometimes when you do that, people aren't satisfied. So, this fight means a lot, and winning this fight will do a lot for me. One main thing that I know will come from this fight is respect. And that's respect from the naysayers, the boxing public, the super middleweight division and abroad.

So, how would you define yourself?
Well, that's the thing: I can't even define myself. When you study my fights, I don't think you see me doing one thing the whole fight. So, therefore, you can't really classify it. ... I have fought a lot of different styles in my 18 fights, and I think I have been able to adjust on the fly and make the necessary adjustments to ultimately get the win, and that's what it's all about. So, I can't even tell you what my style is because I really don't have a name for it.

Who do you consider to be the best 168-pound fighter in the world?
Well, on paper, you would have to go with (Mikel) Kessler, but there's a lot of big names in the division, and because a lot of these big names are fighting each other, the cream is rising to the top. I think as we keep fighting each other, pretty soon we will have a dominant champion at this weight.

Do you think that you are ready to fight the best at 168 pounds right now?
I have tried to reach out to them before this fight. I think my promoter reached out to just about every champion in the division, and for whatever reason, the fight just couldn't get made. I was willing and ready. This fight will put me in a position, God willing, for a mandatory spot. So, this fight is everything.

Why do you think those fights couldn't get made?
I don't know. I get a little feedback here and there, but I'm not on the phone making the calls, so it would be unfair to say why these fights couldn't get made. I know we reached out.

Miranda has publicly invited Carl Froch to sit ringside at your fight because he said he would like to fight him after he beats you. What do you make of that?
He said the same thing to Jermain Taylor before his fight with Kelly Pavlik and you saw what happened. So, this might be the encore right here.

Saturday night will mark the first time you fight professionally in your hometown of Oakland, Calif. Have you found that to be more of a distraction in the weeks leading up to the fight?
People know where I stand as far as that. Sometimes you even have to get a little rude to let people know where you stand. I mean, when you see a fight like Manny Pacquaio vs. Ricky Hatton, that proves that this isn't a game. I take the fight game very serious. I don't have hangers on, and when you call my phone and you listen to the voice mail, it tells people that I'll be back the day after the fight, and that's when I will return phone calls. As far as pressure? Hey man, there's pressure each and every fight.

How do you envision this fight ending? Miranda is predicting that he will knock you out in the 10th round.
You know, I really don't have a prediction. I'm going to go out there, be Andre Ward, and that's going to be enough.