"Hell Yeah": Andre Ward Open to Box Jake Paul, Professional & Exhibition

Money talks, and Andre Ward has his eyes on one influencer boxer.

Retired professional boxer Andre Ward revealed that he was close to returning from retirement on several occasions and that either an exhibition or professional boxing match against Jake Paul would entice him to return.

READ MORE: Eddie Hearn Reacts To Oscar De La Hoya's Warning With A Simple Message

Ward, appearing on the May 6 episode of "The MMA Hour", discussed how he was tempted to come back when Canelo Álvarez fought Sergey Kovalev, before going on to address a potential Jake Paul super fight:

"I think I would be open to something like [an exhibition fight] .... I'm not going to make a mockery of my legacy, but if it was something that made sense .... I might jump on that."

"Like Jake Paul?" Interviewer Ariel Helwani probed.

"Hell yeah," Ward continued. I would be open to both [an exhibition or professional match], for sure."

Ward discussed using close contacts to make Jake Paul's team aware he was interested in a fight. Unfortunately, he didn't get a response, "You know why," Ward jested.

Ward ruminating over fighting Paul isn't new, however, as Floyd Mayweather Jr. told reporters back in 2022 that Ward had spoken to him, and "didn't mind doing an exhibition against Jake Paul."

Jake Paul, Francis Ngannou Team Up Against UFC President Dana White

The drama continues between lineal UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and UFC President Dana White. Recently, White has been pushing hard for an MMA/boxing crossover fight between Jon Jones and Tyson Fury.

Related: Dana White Unleashes Tirade on Francis Ngannou: "It's a Bunch of BS"

This is in light of comments made by White regarding Francis Ngannou and his deal with the PFL. White exclaimed that having Ngannou for MMA bouts whilst being a boxing free agent "makes no sense to me," and that the UFC didn't do "gimmick fights."

Not only this, White remarked that Ngannou essentially fled Jones in the UFC, not because he was scared, but that he was afraid of risk. One devout supporter of Ngannou is influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who defended Ngannou's position via Twitter:

"Wasn't Dana [White] the same person that said "If I'm Jon Jones watching Francis Ngannou, I'm moving to 185 pounds."...yes he 100% was. So...

"Francis Ngannou is the baddest man on the planet. Dana confirmed that while he controlled Francis.

"Dana sits there talking about "I don't do gimmick fights. That's not what we do over here." then announces an arbitrary belt to try and steal away attention from Francis joining PFL and now [desperately] trying to book Tyson Fury to come into the cage."

Ngannou replied to Paul's message:

🤷🏿‍♂️🎯 https://t.co/Tz6rADHNES

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) June 4, 2023

Who could have predicted that Ngannou and Paul, under the PFL banner, would take a stand against White and the UFC in 2023?

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