When have you ever heard of the winner of a boxing match giving his opponent some of the winnings they raked in? Probably never. Paul Smith was fined for being over weight and Ward actually paid him back!
Andre Ward is definitely a stand-up guy and he is ok in my book. On Saturday, Ward dominated his first match in 19 months by winning each round against his opponent, Paul Smith. Before the fight, Paul Smith entered the fight several pounds over the weight limit that was agreed on in the contract and as a result, he was fined by the commission.
On top of violating the contract’s agreed weight limit and having to pay $45,000–which was split between the commission and Ward–he had to pay an additional $5,000 per pound he was over by the time the fight started; and, that totaled up to another $15,000. Smith was only set to make $225,000 and ended bringing $165,000.
On the other hand, Andre Ward who made weight, was set to bring in $2 million (Roc Nation)! In addition to his $2 million, he took in an additional $37,500 from the fines that Smith accumulated. However, for some reason, Ward gave all of the fined money back to his opponent, Smith. One thing is for sure, Ward will definitely continue to make good money because that is just how karma works!
Where have you ever heard of a boxer giving up that amount of money out of the kindness of their heart? I don’t think we ever have and it is not likely that we ever will!
Source: ESPN
