Joe Tessitore: Collapsing at MSG Before Crawford-Khan, Ripping Out His Own IV & Why Bud Waited

On this episode of HALL OF GAME, Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. are back to break down Ryan Garcia’s round 2 TKO win over Conor Benn, why big weight cuts aren’t a flex, and the difference between criticism and hate. Pitbull Cruz wants next, while Roy wants to see Ryan solve the Shakur Stevenson puzzle, and Dre explains why the Devin Haney rematch still matters.Plus, Pitbull’s knockout of Nestor Bravo sparks a disagreement: was Bravo looking for a way out, or had he simply reached his level? Plus, Dre and Roy break down David Benavidez vs. Jai Opetaia and explain why Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua belongs in front of the UK fans.To cap off the discussion, Dre reflects on nine years of retirement as Terence Crawford faces pressure over Boots Ennis. Dre knows what it’s like to have your résumé questioned after you walk away. Roy explains why the competitive fire never leaves, and why talking back can pull a retired fighter into a fight he never intended to take. 0:00 – Intro & show rundown1:32 – Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz demolishes Néstor Bravo14:45 – Cruz calls out Ryan Garcia19:59 – Ryan Garcia’s next move: Pitbull, Teo, Devin or Shakur?25:58 – AD BREAK27:06 – Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn breakdown34:34 – Keeping a ‘championship mindset’43:43 – AD BREAK44:30 – Jai Opetaia stops Noel Mikaelian, Benavidez showdown looms49:55 – Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury finally set?54:14 – Retirement talk: Ward’s 9-year anniversary & Terence Crawford1:11:13 – OutroSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Tessitore sits down with Andre Ward, his broadcast partner of thousands of hours and, as Dre puts it, a mentor and a brother.The career is all here. Local news in Hartford, the ESPN call in late 2001 that put him next to Teddy Atlas on Friday Night Fights, the Emanuel Augustus fights he still calls flashes of genius, and why he never negotiates his own deals. He talks about getting pulled off Monday Night Football in the New York Post and not attaching emotion to a corporation, what actually separates a professional from a talent, and the Mike McQuade introduction that made a whole production room sit up straight.And then April 20, 2019. Madison Square Garden, Crawford vs. Khan, and Tessitore collapsing on air from the top of the building. The EKG, the ambulance, the son riding with him, and the moment he told the doctor to take the IV out, handed his kid a wad of cash for an Uber, and walked back into the Garden sweating through his shirt with the hospital band still on to call Bud Crawford’s fight. Ninety minutes after the main event, one person was still waiting outside the green room to make sure he was okay. It was the champion. 00:00 – Intro: Meeting a broadcasting legend04:38 – Origin story: his mother’s journey from Italy11:08 – Young Joe: quiet childhood, his sister’s death11:56 – His father and alcoholism15:01 – Forgiveness and looking forward, not back18:11 – Big Italian family, horse racing, cards20:30 – “I loathe mediocrity”21:42 – Chasing “magis” — the pursuit of more26:28 – Saint Joseph and fatherhood as identity29:52 – The football injury that changed everything32:25 – Discovering “the voice”35:19 – Survivor’s guilt and his sister’s death39:37 – Business degree over communications44:16 – Getting removed from Monday Night Football45:57 – The 2002 ESPN call and boxing roots51:13 – Uncle Mike the baker: talent vs. opportunity1:04:45 – Crawford vs. Khan: the medical episode begins1:09:25 – Hospital, IV, and walking out of the ER1:14:28 – Calling his son John’s fake field goal1:26:38 – Stripped down: “Who is Joe Tessitore?”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fourteen years after the fight that changed both their lives, Andre Ward sits down with “Bad” Chad Dawson and gets some things off his chest. Ward opens up about why he never wanted the fight, the apology he’s carried ever since, and what he knew about Dawson’s camp that he saved for the weigh-in. Dawson holds nothing back either: getting dropped in sparring two weeks out, who leaked it, why he’s “110% sure” Bernard Hopkins faked the shoulder injury, the Adonis Stevenson knockout, and the same referee who stopped both of his worst nights.From gloves on his hands as a baby to signing his first pro contract in the gym without anyone reading it, the three-time world champion walks through a career built on fighting anyone, anywhere, and the price he paid for it: three years in Vegas after the losses and the long road back home. Plus a first-time reveal about why he really chased Antonio Tarver, his pick in the Keyshawn Davis vs Devin Haney debate, and sparring Jake Paul. 00:00 - Welcome & Reconnecting with Chad Dawson03:23 - Andre Ward’s Reflection & Weight Class Regrets05:49 - Adonis Stevenson Camp & Weigh-In Scuffle08:13 - Press Conference Energy & Sparring Southpaws11:45 - Growing Up in a Boxing Family & Turning Pro18:15 - Glenn Johnson Reality Check & Style Identity25:01 - Breaking Out: The 2007 Tomas Adamek Title Win30:23 - Moving Camps to Vegas & Team Friction36:38 - Vacating Titles & Fighting Antonio Tarver41:16 - Chasing Big Names & Boxing Business Mistakes48:41 - Breakdown: Modern Fighters & Style Matchups51:44 - Facing Jean Pascal in Canada & Controversial Stoppage55:16 - Bernard Hopkins Drama: Ring Toss & Mind Games1:02:15 - The Aftermath of the B-Hop Fights1:08:40 - Weight Cut Nightmares1:14:20 - Reflection on Career Accomplishments & Hall of Fame Debates1:18:05 - Current State of the Light Heavyweight Division1:23:50 - Passing the Torch & Final Message to the FansSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re BACK for PART 2 of THE ART OF WARD featuring Zab Judah. Zab kicks off by telling Andre Ward what the Cory Spinks fight week actually looked like: checking into the hotel under an alias and getting a death threat on the room phone anyway, armed security rotating outside his door through the night, and sending his conditioning coach out in street clothes to order the team’s food because he was certain somebody would try to poison it.Then the run that defined the rest of his career. He lost the undisputed title to Carlos Baldomir, and Don King had him re-signing his contract that same night, because the IBF belt was the only thing left that could get him Floyd Mayweather. Zab makes his full case on that fight: the glove that touched the canvas and was never called a knockdown, the first five rounds, Roger Mayweather coming into the ring in the tenth and his own father walking in right behind him, the $8 million purse and the $350,000 he handed straight back in fines, and why the year they suspended him afterward hurt more than the loss.Plus Miguel Cotto’s low blows on Puerto Rican Day weekend at the Garden, the Lucas Matthysse camp he built off a tape of Matthysse’s third professional fight, the three million dollars he refused to hand an investor, the accountants who ran through what was left, and the walk he took by himself to a Brooklyn hospital thirty days after his final fight that ended in emergency brain surgery. 0:00 – Intro: Fight week lockdown before Corey Spinks II7:53 – The knockout & the Harlem Shake celebration10:21 – Post-fight bond with Corey Spinks15:57 – The Carlos Baldomir loss & re-signing with Don King20:15 – Setting up the Floyd Mayweather superfight23:13 – Fight week tension with Mayweather27:06 – Breaking down Floyd’s style and the early rounds30:25 – Controversial scoring & the suspension conspiracy33:02 – The ring brawl breaks out37:04 – Body shots, fatigue, and respect for Floyd40:18 – Nevada fine, one-year suspension, moving forward41:36 – Miguel Cotto war at MSG & the low blows45:47 – When boxing became “just a job”46:27 – Underestimating Lucas Matthysse & the mid-fight adjustment52:10 – Becoming his own promoter and dealmaker56:09 – Money problems and hard financial lessons1:03:30 – Comeback fights and the Cletus Seldin stoppage1:04:28 – Hospital scare and emergency brain surgery1:11:10 – Recovery, reflection, and closing thoughtsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zab Judah sits down with Andre Ward for a two-part conversation on a career that started at six years old and didn’t end until he was 41. The Brownsville-born six-time world champion takes Dre all the way back to the beginning: a mother and father who met in karate school, a house where you fought your own brothers for food and for who got the bike, the Golden Gloves chain snatched off his neck on the train, and the night his father woke him up in the middle of the night just to put him in front of Mike Tyson.Part 1 is the climb and the first collapse. Duva pulled him out of the Golden Gloves at sixteen and put him on a plane to spar Pernell Whitaker, who didn’t know who he was for three days. At eighteen he was the co-main event on HBO. At fifteen and zero he took the Micky Ward fight everybody told him to turn down, and ended up in the corner telling his own father he thought his ribs were broken. Then Kostya Tszyu: undefeated, headlining Vegas for the first time, and it was over in two rounds. Zab tells all of it, the stool, the referee, the year they took from him, and why he still says he never got to go out on his shield.Plus the recruitment that changed his career: Don King walking into Justin’s in New York with a bag of cash in the limo, the plane tickets to Florida that somehow didn’t exist for his two lawyers, the Statue of Liberty in the backyard, and the $250,000 in a Gucci bag and the green convertible Bentley he drove home himself because he wasn’t about to let anybody ship it. 0:00 – Welcome Zab Judah to The Art of Ward3:26 – Combat Family Roots & Growing Up with 14 Siblings6:01 – Brooklyn Amateur Days & High School Survival9:52 – Life in the Brownsville Projects11:09 – Meeting Mike Tyson at Age 813:07 – Tyson’s Highs, Lows, and Wisdom21:26 – AD BREAK22:51 – Golden Gloves Champion & NYC vs. Upstate Mentality26:26 – 1996 Olympic Trials & Linking Up with Floyd Mayweather29:12 – Turning Pro & Sparring with Pernell Whitaker33:24 – Tyson Undercards & the Mickey Ward War36:55 – First Title Win & Living Large as Champ39:44 – The Kostya Tszyu Fight & Aftermath44:07 – Throwing the Chair & Dealing with the Fallout52:39 – Second World Title & First Deal with Don King55:34 – Signing with Don King in Florida (the Bentley Bonus)1:07:55 – The Corey Spinks Fights & Becoming Undisputed Champ in St. Louis1:13:37 – Chaos in the Corner (Part 1 Ends)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andre Ward & Roy Jones Jr are BACK after a wild weekend of boxing. Errol Spence Jr. came back after three years away, flew to Australia to fight Tim Tszyu in his own backyard, went the distance, and then walked away from the sport for good. The internet decided he looked shot. Dre and Roy see it completely differently, and Roy has a message for everybody with an opinion: if you never told him when to start, you don’t get to tell him when to stop.Plus Stephen Fulton misses weight again and comes home from Australia with no check, Edgar Berlanga climbs off the canvas to save his night at the Garden, and Roy tells young fighters exactly what happens when you let a promoter put words in your mouth. 00:00 – Intro00:23 – Weekend Recap: Spence Returns, Charlo & Fulton Fall Out03:54 – Andre Ward Gets Emotional on Chad Dawson18:08 – Hackett vs. Derevyanchenko & Berlanga Stops Butler22:07 – Stephen Fulton’s Weight Problem, Again29:54 – Errol Spence vs. Tim Tszyu Breakdown44:14 – AJ, Fury & Errol Spence’s LegacySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off his 2026 International Boxing Hall of Fame induction, Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver sits down with Andre Ward and takes him from Ivy Lane in Orlando to Canastota: raised by a single mom with three sisters, put in the ring at nine as a punishment at the Boys and Girls Club, and the rock bottom at 18 that ended in drug rehab, where he was telling anyone who’d listen that he was going to the Olympics.Tarver gets into the stories only he can tell: watching Roy Jones get robbed in Seoul and getting up off the couch to run, captaining the ’96 Olympic team that consisted of a young Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah, turning pro at 27 with not one promoter or manager calling, fighting four rounds on a jaw broken in two places, and the three-year campaign that ended with “You got any excuses tonight, Roy?” and the punch heard around the world.Plus the Bernard Hopkins fight he says deserves an asterisk, being Al Haymon’s first fighter alongside Vernon Forrest, playing Mason Dixon in Rocky Balboa, and finally getting his flowers. 0:00 – Welcoming Antonio Tarver, Newly Crowned Hall of Famer0:23 – Induction Weekend & Honoring His Mom and Trainer2:29 – Growing Up in Orlando with a Single Mom6:11 – Starting Boxing at 9 at the Boys & Girls Club7:24 – Leaving Boxing for Other Sports, Moving Out of the Inner City10:26 – Depression, Cocaine, and Hitting Rock Bottom11:41 – Watching Roy Jones Jr. “Robbed” at the 1988 Olympics15:33 – Deciding to Wait for Atlanta 199617:50 – ’96 Team Captain: Mentoring Floyd Mayweather & Zab Judah20:44 – Bronze Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics22:46 – Turning Pro with No Promoters Calling27:53 – First Loss vs. Eric Harding29:54 – Turning the Tide and Knocking Out Harding with a Broken Jaw33:05 – The Years-Long Campaign to Fight Roy Jones Jr.35:12 – The Infamous Post-Fight Press Conference Callout44:39 – Breaking Down Roy Jones Fight I (2003)48:45 – The Controversial Decision49:31 – Fighting for the Rematch53:18 – Training Camp for the Rematch55:41 – “You Got Any Excuses Tonight, Roy?”56:14 – The Knockout Heard Around the World1:00:45 – Life After the Knockout1:05:47 – Al Haymon and the Business Side of Boxing1:07:20 – The Trilogy Fight in Tampa1:19:15 – The Bernard Hopkins Fight and Feeling Off1:28:16 – Owning His Lane and His Story1:30:38 – Final Lessons and Closing ThoughtsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jermall Charlo sits down with Andre Ward in Houston for his first real conversation in years, just as his comeback fight on the Tim Tszyu/Errol Spence card in Australia is around the corner. The two-time world champion and one half of Lions Only takes Dre back to the beginning: a two-parent household in H-Town, fighting on the same amateur card as his own father, the ingrown toenail that cost him the 2008 Olympics, and why he turned pro without ever signing a contract with anyone.Jermall gets into the stories only he can tell: jumping the gate to introduce himself to Al Haymon and the handshake that’s lasted 20 years, the mystery package sent to his room the night before his first world title fight, the divorce that took his kids and nearly took him, and the truth about turning down the Canelo fight in 2023 and watching his twin brother take it instead. Plus the Julian Williams counter he drilled every single day of camp, life as “the other twin,” and why at 36 he’s still in love with boxing. 00:00 Intro – Welcoming Jermall Charlo in Houston01:44 Body at 3602:26 Pushing each other with Jermell03:38 Early years in Houston, family life04:35 Amateur days, fighting on his dad’s card06:03 Twin dynamic – growing up as Jermall & Jermell08:16 From other sports to realizing boxing was “the thing”09:41 Early trainers & the amateur circuit11:35 Twin life, differences inside & outside the ring16:03 Missing the 2008 Olympics – injury & surgery17:21 Turning pro & staying self-made18:33 Meeting Al Haymon23:04 2015 – Winning his first title26:20 AD BREAK27:07 Life as a champion & the start of his faith journey29:55 Divorce, rock bottom & hitting his lowest point34:44 Full surrender – his testimony47:44 Julian Williams fight – the real tension52:03 Life after the win – spending, business side54:14 Two-year layoff & comeback vs. Benavidez55:42 Scouting opponents & in-ring adjustments56:42 The 2023 Canelo opportunity – why he passed it to Jermell1:00:22 Watching his brother take on Canelo1:01:23 Motivation for the Benavidez rematch1:01:55 Identity, legacy & the pressure of “being the lion”1:05:03 What’s next – real estate, ministry, business1:06:53 Closing thoughts & outroSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. are back with a new edition of HALL OF GAME, and they’re going straight at the fight everybody just watched: Jaron “Boots” Ennis stopping Xander Zayas in the 7th round at Barclays. Boots broke Zayas down to the body, but the Hall of Fame duo don’t see the third round firefight the same way. Roy calls it going to sleep, Dre calls it an exchange, and they go back and forth on whether it’s a real flaw or just the cost of having that much in the bag.From there it’s the stoppage everyone’s arguing about: should Zayas’ corner have waved it off in the fifth to save him the punishment? Did he quit, or did he show enough? Roy and Dre get into the difference between quitting and getting beat and the mental side of prizefighting.Then they look ahead: what’s actually next for Boots, chase the Vergil Ortiz fight, or Fundora? Plus shout-outs to Emiliano Vargas, Ben Whittaker, and Jose Valenzuela avenging his loss to Edwin de la Santos. 0:00 Intro0:46 Setting the scene: Zayas vs. Boots at Barclays Center1:36 First reactions: fight, atmosphere, stoppage2:07 Body shots that set up the finish4:01 Round 1 power and the Round 3 wobble7:05 Is Boots’ “defensive lapse” overblown?9:11 Ad break10:31 Zayas’ round 3 strategy debated12:57 Boots’ defense, standards, and grading his own performance18:19 Ward’s “mental letdown” theory22:07 The “bag of stuff” theory & lack of elite competition37:08 Setting up the late rounds38:33 Round 5 knockdown breakdown39:45 Should the corner have stopped it?44:18 Round 7 stoppage and the corner look46:28 Did Zayas quit? The big debate51:18 Where Zayas goes from here53:51 What’s next for Boots Ennis56:56 Shoutouts: Vargas Jr., Whittaker, Valenzuela1:01:16 Roy Jones Jr.’s award shoutout1:01:34 OutroSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. are back in a new edition of HALL OF GAME, and they’re not holding back. They break down the fight everybody’s talking about, Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Xander Zayas on June 27 at Barclays, and Roy makes his pick clear: on paper, Boots is supposed to win, and the only question is whether Zayas can take the punch. Who will come out on top?First they get into the NBA Finals: how the New York Knicks erased a 29-point Game 4 lead and snatched the title from Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs after 53 years, why Roy says De’Aaron Fox’s turnovers “turned the team off,” and what Wemby still has to prove. Then it’s Bam Rodriguez making history as a three-division champ at 24, the Inoue super-bantamweight fight everybody wants, and Roy’s blunt take on the modern “duck game” and the media that fuels it.Finally, the Hall of Fame duo talk Errol Spence Jr.‘s comeback fight vs. a tough Tim Tszyu, Errol opening up on THE ART OF WARD, and a message to the haters. 0:00 - Intro: Hall of Game Is Back1:15 - Roy Jones Jr. Catches Us Up: Franklyn Dwomoh, Newman vs. Munguia & Dallas Fight Card2:10 - NY Knicks Win the NBA Championship After 53 Years4:15 - Roy’s Take: De’Aaron Fox’s Turnovers & the Spurs’ Collapse7:34 - The Boxing Parallel: How Leads Slip Away12:08 - Shout Out to Jalen Brunson & the Knicks’ Grit13:54 - AD BREAK14:49 - Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez Becomes 3-Division World Champion16:40 - Can Bam Beat Naoya Inoue? Breaking Down the Styles25:30 - Xander Zayas vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis | June 27 Preview27:43 - Is This Fight Too Soon for Zayas?30:23 - Breaking Down Boots’ Fight Game & the Weight Class Move36:20 - Winner Gets “The Towering Inferno” — What’s at Stake40:28 - Errol Spence Jr. Is Back! July 25 vs. Tim Tszyu41:48 - Roy’s Coaching Take: What Spence Needs to Rediscover43:27 - Dre’s Interview with Spence: The Crawford Fight, the Camp & the Comeback47:51 - Addressing the 10%: YouTube Critics Calling Spence’s Interview “Excuses”50:32 - Andre & Roy on Biased Media & Fighters Feeding Narratives58:45 - Katie Taylor Sells Out Croke Park (82,000 Tickets in 30 Min!)1:01:16 - OutroSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.