“The Son of Zod”

A con artist never wants to face prose. He can run from truth and wax ring poetic, but he cannot shine from false justice.

There are those who would be gods among us, far fewer than those who want to be. Once Andre “S.O.G” Ward realized he was not facing his equal, as he understood over the second stanza with Sergey Kovalev the first time, he prepared for “The Son of Zod” the next time. He would, actually, be facing his equal if he were to face Adonis “Superman” Stevenson. An authentically sardonic Batman V Superman. That match-up would present Ward with great peril, as clues will reveal when the Lineal and WBC light heavyweight champion squares off against Badou Jack (May 19, Belle Center in Montreal). A phantom ringside call from Ward would enhance the intrigue; Stevenson will bottle Jack, twist his cap and get him flat like coke soda before pouring him all over the bright red canvas.

Because of the integrity offered in his speech and performance, when Andre retired, it conjured a lot of coulda, woulda’s and shoulda’s, under the belief that the upgraded Bernard Hopkins had become an immortal.

Could he have beaten Gennady “GGG” Golovkin if the powers that be had found a way to make that fight? He would’ve. Ward always sneered at the scent of Golovkin, believing Triple G to be ‘a creation’. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist would’ve made Golovkin look like a 2004 Olympic silver “meddler” out to steal gold and glory. He would be caught and convicted of fraud, before being seen with a blank stare at the bar with Carl Froch.

Would he defeat a brash Tony Bellew, if the two decided to make something real out of their cameos in Creed? Probably. Andre Ward is far superior to Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler, but Bellew is highly intelligent and a fully natural cruiserweight who fights like a personality disorder. It’s a fight UK promoter extraordinaire Eddie Hearn has called for after Bellew goes bipolar on David Haye (May 5, O2 Arena in London).

Should he come out of retirement to fight Anthony Joshua? No. If the great Roy Jones and Andre Ward are paralleled, Ward is the superior technical fighter. Andre’s vast nuance never allowed gold to be stolen from him, physically or psychologically. But Roy was gifted in ways athletically that Andre was not, which enabled a modern sports engineered RJJ to claim heavyweight glory. However, because it was an unnatural and forced transition, Jones Jr was never the same.

The fan inside of me wants the unbeaten Ward of Chicago Bull red and black, with the commemorative “FW” on the shorts in honor of Father’s Day, to live with the vintage #23 curtain call dropped on Kovalev (March 3, “The Krusher” will throw an MSG bash on Igor Mikhalkin). The Larry Merchant in me might offer futuristic Shakespeare on why either nature or Joshua manhandles Ward.

Just maybe, if I was 50 years older I’d kick his ass.