What defines Ward is his bold decision to fight as a light heavyweight. He's really a natural middleweight, the lighter, 165-pound division he intends to enter when he turns professional after the Olympics.
Boxers seldom elect to fight above their optimal weight, and Ward's decision to be a light heavyweight stems from a deal he made years ago with his cousin, middleweight DonYil Livingston.
"We made a pact we wouldn't fight each other," Ward says of Livingston, who was the USA's third-ranked middleweight in 2002. To avoid the potential conflict, he moved up and took his chances. He remained a light heavyweight even though Livingston didn't contend for the Athens Olympics.
Concerning ward at LHW in the Olympics, Hunter tells a different story then what was featured in this 2004 USA today article:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/fight/2004-08-10-portrait-ward-boxing_x.htm