During Ward's time away from the sport, he used some of the funds from his day job on a road-paving crew to have surgery on his right hand, which had given him problems during several bouts.
I løbet af Ward's tid væk fra sporten, brugte han nogle af midlerne fra sit daglige arbejde på en vej-bane til at få kirurgi på sin højre hånd, som han havde problemer med i flere kampe.