Ward now able to see wisdom of amateur path

ATHENS — Two months ago, American boxer Andre Ward lamented his decision to remain an amateur. He was frustrated by the politics of amateur boxing, and disliked the long stretches of training and competition, which denied him time with his wife and two children.

But Ward warded off the temptations of immediate gratification.

“I just got a lot of sound wisdom from (godfather and coach Virgil Hunter), and my father before he passed,” Ward said. “We saw how the training went with champions that came through the front door, so to speak, and who got an Olympic gold medal or went to the Olympics, as opposed to someone like Bernard Hopkins, who came through the back door.”

Hopkins is a middleweight champion who didn’t get a title shot until he was in his late 20s.

“No Olympic experience, no one knew him, fighting basically for peanuts,” Ward said of Hopkins.

The wisdom in Ward’s decision was bolstered Tuesday night, when he dominated gold-medal favorite Evgeny Makarenko, a two-time world champion from Russia who hadn’t lost a fight since 1999. Now Ward, who fights in the semifinals today, is expected to win Olympic gold in the light heavyweight division, joining the likes of Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield.