Andre Ward

"You know, I probably wouldn't do it," Ward added, "it's not for me, man. I enjoy watching those guys because it's an art, just like boxing. I appreciate it and I love watching it. You know, Urijah Faber is one of my favorite guys and I may even go to his fight in Sacramento coming up (WEC 41, June 7).

The 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist said that he was approached "six or seven months ago" by a fighter who trains at his gym about competing in MMA, and after considering the opportunity briefly, opted against it.

"Whenever I do something," Ward said. "I want to do it full steam ahead. I probably would not be too excited about the whole ground game and working on that and stuff, so I wouldn't put myself in that situation ... I'm a supporter of MMA; I'm not against. But you probably won't see Andre Ward in the cage anytime soon.

The lack of young American boxing stars is disheartening, especially in the heavyweight division. However, Ward, one of the best young American boxers, thinks that the sweet science is in no danger of being pushed aside by MMA.

"Boxing has been here forever, and I don't think any contact sport will ever supercede the sport of boxing," Ward said.

Ward's next fight is against Edison Miranda (32-3) on May 16. The fight airs live on Showtime.

- Courtsey of AP