Ward expects a grueling fight from Green on 6/19

By Boxing News - 06/11/2010 - Comments

Image: Ward expects a grueling fight from Green on 6/19By Matt Stein: World Boxing Association super middleweight champion Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KO’s) expects a grueling fight from once beaten Allan Green (29-1, 20 KO’s) when they meet up in their stage 2 Super Six tourney bout at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California. Whereas Green has been predicting a knockout victory, Ward is just content to a win and doesn’t have a hang up about trying to score a knockout. Ward, 26, says “At this stage and this level you have to be ready for everything the opponent has to bring. In my mind, I’m preparing for a very physical and very grueling fight. And if there is anything left, then that’s fine. That’s what I’m prepared for to do whatever needs to be done to keep my title. I never wanted to be a guy who won a title and then lost it to his first defense. I want to be a guy that reigns for a long time.”

Ward may not have much to worry about if he stays calm and focuses on boxing Green rather than getting caught up and trying to slug with him. That would be playing to Green’s strength. He’s good at slugging and has the power to take anyone out in the division if he catches them just right. Where Green is much weaker is in the boxing department. He’s very vulnerable of getting out-boxed and doesn’t have the same ability to win a tough decision as Ward does.

Ward opened some eyes in his first fight of the Super Six tournament when he totally dominated Mikkel Kessler, beating him by an 11 round technical decision last November in Oakland, California. Ward and Kessler clashed heads numerous times in the fight, causing Kessler to be cut over both of his eyes. Kessler fans felt that Ward fought dirty, and some even felt that Kessler would have beaten Ward had there been no cuts involved.

Its’ hard to buy that kind of thinking when it seemed to clear that Ward was a superior fighter to Kessler in every facet of the game. Never the less, there are than a few pro Kessler fans that believe that things would have been different if those cuts hadn’t occurred. Kessler did win his second fight of the Super Six tournament against Carl Froch in April and looked a lot better, albeit against a much slower and defensively poor opponent.

Green, 30, is stepping into the Super Six tournament with not much experience to speak of against top level fighters. He beat Tarvis Simms in his last fight, but has mostly been matched against lower quality fighters his entire career for some reason. If the object was to build a flashy record for Green, it worked because he has a showy record.

However, it’s disappointing when you look at the quality and wonder how he could have been matched against such mediocre fighters for long without being put in with better fighters. Well, Green is finally getting moved up two or three levels in being put in the Super Six tournament. Whether he’s ready for that or not will be found out on June 19th. My guess is Green will be hopelessly out of his class and will be dominated by Ward.



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