Andre Ward vs Arthur Abraham
Oakland’s Andre Ward (left) is everything we ask American champions to be.
He’s a homegrown boxer-puncher, classically schooled in the pugilistic arts with a 2004 Olympic gold medal as proof of his pedigree. Since turning professional he has fought consistently and grown significantly, proving his mettle over the past year by dominating Showtime’s Super Six super middleweight tournament against world-class opposition. He’s a smart, telegenic, clean-living family man who interviews well and boasts a nickname that belies his devotion to church: Son of God.
And yet somehow we just can’t get excited about Ward and his nearly limitless potential at 168 lbs. Maybe it’s his tendency toward ugly fights filled with headbutts, or perhaps he just lacks that special something connects a select few athletes with the audience and dooms others to the margins despite equal ability. Whatever it is, we can’t say we’d be sorry to see someone upset Andre Ward, who is definitely the favorite to win the Super Six.
Arthur Abraham’s stint in the tourney has had almost the opposite effect on his career. Formerly viewed as almost untouchable, “King” Arthur was exposed by Andre Dirrell and subsequently outclassed by Carl Froch, leaving him on the brink of losing his contender status. With fight fans back home in Germany questioning his relevance, a game performance is needed from Abraham tonight to erase the bad taste of the Froch fight.
Round-by-round coverage of the WBA super middleweight title bout from Carson, Calif. via Showtime after the jump:
Round 1: Cautious first from both fighters, but Abraham already looks completely different in his approach from the Froch fight. Both men used their jab well, but King Arthur followed his up more so I’ll give him the round.
Round 2: Fight gets noticeably rougher this round, both men are known for rough house tactics so expect some bending of the rules. Ward is the taller, rangier fighter and he looks to be staying outside for the most part but he can’t resist diving in at times, head-first as usual. Score it for Ward.
Round 3: Both the former middleweight champ from Europe with the classic peekaboo-style defense and the American amateur champ are using those long, hard jabs to try and maintain control of the ring. Ward handles the jab well, but it’s Abraham doing more damage at the moment. He feints with the right and catches Ward hard with the left, appears to hurt him a bit. This is turning into a fight. 29-28 Abraham.
Round 4: Ward responds by coming out more aggressively in the 4th. Abraham has a tendency to cover up at times and he’s indulging in it again. He’s not going to take that belt away by giving away rounds like this. Looks like Abraham reverting to his old bad habits and Ward is starting to get comfortable. 38-38.
Round 5: Ward again controlling the action early in the round on the outside. Even though S.O.G. is known as a great inside fighter, Abraham is probably better off in tight. He remains quiet until late in the round when the two start tying up and wrestling each other around. Ward with a borderline foul that the ref doesn’t call for punching on the break, but he probably wins the round. 48-47 Ward.
Round 6: Ward’s stiff jab is starting to tame King Arthur, who has retreated into his shell. Aside from a couple flurries of wide shots to the body Arthur basically spent the entire round covered up and eating jabs and combinations from Andre. Ward beginning to take control at the halfway point. 58-56 Ward.
Round 7: Ward’s body punching is starting to take a toll on Arthur, whose legs appear to be weakening. Ward’s punches are coming in bunches now and increasingly splitting Abraham’s guard. The only offense from the Armenian is a flurry of ugly body shots; his only chance is to turn this into a brawl quickly. 68-65 Ward.
Round 8: There’s a lot to like about this performance from Andre Ward: he’s showing off solid outside boxing skills, a very strong jab and more movement than he’s needed against Allan Green and Sakio Bika. But he’s just not a flashy or crowd-pleasing fighter. His punches rarely appear to land cleanly and he doesn’t appear to have true KO power. Ward is running away with this fight but it won’t change his lack of box office appeal. 78-74 Ward.
Round 9: Abraham appears to have woken up a bit this round but it may be too little, too late. He looks like he’s trying to convince the bouncer to let him back in the club while Ward has set up shop in the VIP section for hours. He’s responding to every attack from the the German transplant with combinations that are finding their mark. Here’s hoping Abraham has enough heart to look for the W in these last three rounds. 88-83 Ward.
Round 10: Ward switches to a southpaw stance for this round and appears to thoroughly confuse Abraham, who could be in danger of getting stopped for the first time in his career. The straight shots from his naturally favored left hard are landing with abandon. The American is faster, more active and technically superior. Abraham does not have enough variety to pose a real threat to the champion. It would take a counter-puncher with true speed to penetrate Ward’s guard. 98-92 Ward.
Round 11: As the announcers have noted several times, Ward is not afraid to deploy every veteran trick in the book. He gives off the impression of a finished product more than anything. This tournament couldn’t have come at a better time for him. If I were handling Ward I would want the Super Six final to take place as soon as possible to enable a unification bout against Lucian Bute in Montreal early next year. 108-101 Ward.
Round 12: Abraham’s corner sounds like they’re pleading with hm to go on; hard to believe this is the same guy that fought 9 round with a broken jaw against Edison Miranda. There’s no questioning Abraham’s heart but he may need to either move back down to middleweight or start considering his plans for life outside the ring.
Abraham comes back with two hard left hooks that catch Ward and appear to cut him slightly, a nice show of heart from Arthur. To be fair, Ward tends to make his opponents look bad and Arthur probably fought him more closely than Green did. Score the final round even or possibly even for Abraham, but either way Ward wins it going away. 118-111 Ward.
Judges score it 120-108, 118-110, 118-111 for Ward who retains his title by unanimous decision.
Another Saturday night, another impressive if not scintillating performance from Andre Ward. As fans of the amateur form of the sport we can help’s but admire Andre’s complete set of tools. On the other hand, he didn’t do anything tonight to convert those that consider him a competent but not compelling fighter. Hopefully the Super Six final will be his opportunity to deliver the show-stopping performance we’ve all been waiting for.