Andre Ward to fight on June 20th in Oakland, California

By Boxing News - 04/02/2015 - Comments

ward3432By Scott Gilfoid: WBA Super World super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) says he’ll be returning to the ring on June 20th against an opponent still to be determined at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. HBO won’t be showing the Ward fight on June 20th, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.

Instead of HBO, it could be televised on BET. The recently beaten Paul Smith from the UK is one of the names that is being mentioned for Ward’s tune-up. What’s interesting about Smith is that he’s coming off of a 12 round decision loss to WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham last February.

That was the second straight time that Smith had been beaten by Abraham.
It doesn’t look like there will be a Ward vs. Carl Froch rematch, because the two sides have reportedly failed to agree to fight. It’s unclear if Froch will be stripped of his WBA title for failing to fight Ward, because the negotiations were ordered by the World Boxing Association.

The fight is supposed to take place by the end of June. There’s no way that’s going to happen. If the WBA does strip Froch of his WBA title, then Felix Sturm and Fedor Chudinov will be fighting for the belt on May 9th. The only question is will the WBA strip Froch of his WBA title or just let him keep it so that he can fight former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr while still in possession of the strap. Rafael believes that a Froch-Ward fight will take place later this year.

I don’t see that happening. If the WBA strips Froch of his WBa title, then there will be no reason for him to face Ward. I mean, the WBA ordering the fight was probably the reason why Froch would fight Ward. But once that title is no longer in Froch’s possession, I don’t see there being any reason for him to want to take on a dangerous guy like Ward.

Froch could then face Chavez Jr, George Groves yet again, and James DeGale before retiring. I personally don’t see why Froch would want to face Chavez Jr rather than someone like Gennady Golovkin, Ward or Andre Dirrell, but that’s on Froch. If he wants Chavez Jr, who some boxing fans see as a fighter who is no longer relevant, then that’s up to Froch and his promoter Eddie Hearn.

“I’m Coming Home!! June 20th in Oakland, Cali. Details to follow. #SOG #RocNationSports #Oracle,” Ward said on his twitter.

YouTube video

Ward, 31, hasn’t fought since beating Edwin Rodriguez by a dominating 12 round unanimous decision in December 2013. It was an impressive performance from Ward, who showed in that fight that he’s one of the best fighters in the super middleweight division.

Ward recently moved over to Roc Nation Sports from Goosen Promotions. It was assumed that they would be able to get Ward some good fights. Although it’s still early on in Ward’s promotional contract, he’s not had a fight as of yet. Hopefully the June 20th fight will be against a good opponent. Marco Antonio Periban and Rogelio Medina are two names that have been mentioned as the potential opponent for Ward.

“I wanted to fight at home as a thank you to my fans for being patient, because I know it’s been a long wait,” Ward said via Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. “I’ve stayed motivated in the gym and I’m just really excited to get back. I can’t wait. We finally have a date. It’s going to be June 20 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Some people are trying to see if I’ve slipped during this layoff or if I still have it, but my true fans are just ready to see me back in action. We get to answer those questions on June 20 at Oracle Arena.”

Ward hasn’t been active since winning the Super Six tournament in 2011. He’s had a couple of fights since winning that prized trophy in beating Chad Dawson and Edwin Rodriguez. Ward has wanted fights against Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch, but he’s been unable to get fights against either of them.

It’s disappointing that HBO won’t be showing Ward’s next tune-up fight. I mean, HBO is showing Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in his tune-up against James Kirkland. If they’re going to show that mismatch then they should show Ward’s fight. We saw HBO televise a recent mismatch between Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios, and that was an unwatchable fight in my view.



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