Andre Ward says he is ready to fight Gennady Golovkin this year

Andre Ward wants a piece of Gennady Golovkin, but he doesn't want to let the fight marinate. The super middleweight champion wants it now.

Ward was a guest on ESPN's SportsNation on Wednesday and was clearly annoyed by what he called attempts by the GGG side to negotiate through the media.

"I'm ready, and I think if everybody comes to the table with a clear head and no one tries to dictate … Andre Ward is available and we can make it happen," the undefeated fighter said. "… They want Golovkin to smile and wave and be the pretty boy and then the promoters, they do the tough talk. Then if I respond, then I'm the villain. Well, I'm not the villain. I've never built my career on that.

"So, I'm very simple, but I also mean what I say. If GGG wants the fight, come from behind the promoter, come from behind the trainer, tell them to call HBO. I've already done that before I came on the show because I knew that you guys were gonna ask me this. Let's make it happen."

But it appears there's a roadblock to making the fight a reality. Golovkin, who has scored 20 consecutive knockouts, appeared on the show on July 13 and said, "I want 50-50. He want fight with me? Absolutely I'm ready. I want fight with him."

It seems, though, that the middleweight destroyer wasn't just referring to the purse split when he said 50-50. His promoter, Tom Loeffler, told ESPN.com earlier this month that they would also seek a catchweight of 164 pounds. Ward's last fight was at 172, and he hasn't fought below 168 in years. It's doubtful he could make that weight without severely draining himself, and Golovkin has said in the past he would move to 168 to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Carl Froch.

"I'm open to fight any of these guys," Ward said, referring to a potential matchup with Sergey Kovalev as well. "If you look at my track record, I've always been ready and willing to fight anybody. There's places for tune-up fights, there's places for stay-busy fights.

"There's a place for that. but at the end of the day … my legacy is really important to me. You get that legacy cemented when you can walk into the Hall of Fame and get voted in. And that's to fight the best, and that's what I want to do."

Ward would have a great shot at topping either Eastern European knockout artist. The Bay Area native has an uncanny ability to neutralize offensive fighters and is among the most cerebral fighters in the game. He ended a nearly two-year layoff last month with a beatdown of Paul Smith, Ward's first bout under Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports.

Golovkin, meanwhile, is in talks to unify middleweight titles with David Lemieux on Oct. 17. Kovalev defends his light heavyweight titles vs. Nadjib Mohammedi on Saturday.

If Ward stays active and defeats the likes of GGG and Kovalev, he'll have no problem walking into Canastota five years after his career ends.