Ward dominates in unanimous decision over Froch
Posted December 17, 2011 11:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Andre Ward had his hands more full on stage than he ever did in the ring against Carl Froch.
Ward walked in holding two championship belts, had to clear space for a trophy, and another title belt was buckled around his waist.
Undefeated and, now, undisputed — the best super middleweight fighter around.
Ward shook off an injured left hand to stake his claim as the top 168-pound division fighter, using his speed and a combination of lefts to defeat Froch in a unanimous decision Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in the Super Six super middleweight tournament final.
Ward kept his injured left hand a secret during training camp.
With each left hook and quick jab, he could have fooled Froch there was anything wrong with that dominant hand.
“I figured out during the fight I could explode with a left hook,” Ward said. “I know he felt some of those hooks.”
Ward, the Olympic gold medallist from Oakland, Calif., retained his WBA championship and won the WBC super middleweight belt in the final bout of the inaugural tournament that stretched out over two years. He was awarded the vacant Ring Magazine championship and the Super Six championship trophy.
Fighter of the Year could be ahead.
“One of the strongest assets I have is my mind. I kept my composure, I kept things under control. And we pulled it off,” Ward said. “I hope I did a good job. But we can still get better, believe it or not.”
Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) dictated the pace from the opening round, connecting on a series of left hooks to rattle Froch. Froch, out of Nottingham, England, never came close to getting knocked out. Froch (28-2, 20 KOs) could not unleash his power punches until late, though, finally showing some overdue aggression in the 10th.
“I wanted to put my shots together, but he moves around, and slips and slides. He’s very good at that,” Froch said. “And that’s why it was a bad night for me.”
Ward dominated the six-man, 168-pound tournament, backed by premium network Showtime. And he did so — on this night, at least — despite injuring his left hand in camp, and then again after striking the top of Froch’s head in the sixth round.
“Give credit to Andre. I never found myself in the zone where I could get my shots off and do what I wanted,” Froch said. “That’s something I’m going to have to work on in the gym.”
One judge scored it 118-110 and two others had it 115-113 for Ward.
“We wanted to fight inside and outside, and we pulled it off,” Ward said. “I was actually surprised at how slow Froch was. He was as slow as he was on tape.”
Ward and Froch were slated to meet Oct. 29 before Ward was injured in training and the fight was rescheduled. Ward needed stitches for a cut above his right eye.
Ward still hasn’t lost a bout since he was an amateur. He entered the Super Six tourney as an underdog to the more experienced Arthur Abraham, Froch and Mikkel Kessler.
His masterful performance in Atlantic City proved himself as the best of them all.
Ward smothered Froch when they were close, then ducked and slipped and kept his distance from Froch for most of the bout. Ward said he was surprised at how slow Froch was during the 12-round fight.
Ward landed 243 of 573 of his punches (42 per cent) while Froch was a miserable 23 per cent (156 of 683). Froch, who lost and regained his WBC belt during the unique tournament, averaged only 56 punches per round after averaging 69 in his previous four Super Six fights.
“I never found myself in the zone where I could get my shots off and do what I want,” Froch said. “That’s something I’m going to have to work on in the gym.”
Froch, 34, went 4-1 in the previous rounds of the tournament. He opened with a 12-round decision over Andre Dirrell on Oct. 17, 2009, then rebounded from the first loss of his career — a 12-round decision to Kessler on April, 24, 2010 — with decision victories over Abraham and Glen Johnson, respectively.
“I’m at the end of a wonderful run of fights,” Froch said. “I’ve been beat before and I’ve come back stronger.”
Froch wants his next fight in England.
Ward simply wants some rest.
The 26-month tournament took a bit of a hit in prestige and dragged on as various boxers dropped out because of injuries. And other contenders, such as IBF champion Lucian Bute, opted not to participate.
Froch’s loss is yet another blow to British boxing, which has suffered since former champions Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton retired.
Heavyweight David Haye lost support with a listless performance against champion Wladimir Klitschko last July, and middleweight prospect Darren Barker has yet to record a signature victory.
But no matter to Ward. He proved himself as one of the elite, posting an 11th-round TKO over Kessler, then winning decisions over Allan Green and Abraham. He also beat Sakio Bika over that span.
Ward dominated with the sharp left hook in the first few rounds to set the tone for the rest of the lopsided bout and add the tournament trophy to go with his Olympic gold and his collection of alphabet belts.
“Believe it or not,” Ward said, “you guys haven’t seen the best of Andre Ward.”
