Is Paul Smith being overweight a tactical choice?

ward43(Photo credit: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports) By Gav Duthie: Shortly after the confirmation that Paul Smith 35-5 (20) would be fighting Super Middleweight supremo Andre Ward 27-0 (14) the Liverpudlian confessed he would have fought Wladimir Klitschko for the money on offer. This suggested to me that this was no more than a retirement fund for Smith and not a fight he actually believed he could win.

On the news that Smith has weighed in at 176.4lbs (4.4lbs over the contracted limit) I’m not sure what to make of it. He will be fined a substantial fraction of his purse which makes the big payday less lucrative.

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Andre Ward lashes Paul Smith, calling him “unprofessional” for coming in overweight

ward50(Photo credit: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports) By Scott Gilfoid: Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) doesn’t know if Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) intentionally came in overweight during Friday’s weigh-in or not, but he’s definitely not happy about it. Ward suspects that Smith came in overweight as a ploy to gain some kind of strategic advantage for their fight tonight at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Whatever the case, Ward sees Smith as unprofessional and he intends on whipping him bad tonight. Ward says that if the 32-year-old Smith had told him about his weight problems weeks ago, they could have increased the weight for him. But instead, Smith didn’t say anything about it and came in at 176.4lbs at the weigh-in, which was 4.4lbs over the 172lb catch-weight limit for the fight.

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Andre Ward 171.8, Paul Smith 176.4, comes in over catch-weight limit

ward5678(Photo credit: W. Williams) By Scott Gilfoid: In what has to be interpreted as a lack of discipline on Paul Smith’s part, he came in 4.4 pounds over the 172 pound catch-weight limit on Friday at the weigh-in for his fight on Saturday night against WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

It’s unclear how much of Smith’s purse he’ll be giving up by coming in over the catch-weight limit. You have to imagine that it’s a substantial portion of his purse.

Ward was his usual professional self in coming in at 171.8lbs, in easily making the 172lb catch-weight limit. I just don’t know what happened to Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) though. The guy fights at 168, and should have had no problems making 172, but it looks like he slacked off and didn’t train as hard as he should have.

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Andre Ward: I want to put on a tremendous performance on Saturday

WardSmithPC3(Photo credit: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos) By Scott Gilfoid: Well it looks like WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-o, 14 KOs) won’t be taking it easy on his overmatched opponent Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) on Saturday night in their catch-weight fight at 172 pounds. Ward, 31, says he’s going to be looking to impress the fans with a tremendous performance against the 32-year-old Brit when he gets him inside the ring in front of a large crowd at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Ward has been out of action for 19 months since his last fight in 2013, and he obviously has a lot of rust that he wants to get out of his system. If Ward is planning on scoring a knockout in this fight then he should look to wait until the later rounds in order for him to get in some badly needed work.

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Paul Smith: I’ll show Andre Ward what no one has ever done on Saturday

WardSmithPC5(Photo credit: PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports) By Scott Gilfoid: Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) plans on doing to WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) what has never been done to him before when they face each other on Saturday night in their catch-weight fight at 172 pounds at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Ward, now promoted by Roc Nation Sports, won’t have his WBA 168 pound title on the line for the fight, as they’ll be fighting at light heavyweight. It’s not a big deal given that Smith won’t have to take weight off for the fight. Smith is often kind of fleshy looking, so it won’t be a problem for him to keep a little more water weight on for the fight.

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Callum Smith: Paul is confident he can pull off the upset against Andre Ward

smith567(Photo credit: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports) By Scott Gilfoid: Callum Smith, the brother of Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs), says Smith is confident of beating WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) in their catch-weight fight at 172 pounds on Saturday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Callum says Smith’s two fights with WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham showed that he belongs at the top tier fighting the best guys. Unfortunately for Smith, he lost both times to Abraham, who many boxing fans see little more as a paper champion due to his talent and the limited opposition he’s faced since winning the strap off of what some fans see another paper champion in Robert Stieglitz. The fact that Smith couldn’t even beat a limited champion like Abraham doesn’t reflect too well on his talent.

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Paul Smith: Andre Ward doesn’t have the power to damage me

ward1111(Photo credit: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports) By Scott Gilfoid: Former two time world title challenger Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) may be hopelessly over-matched in Saturday’s fight against Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs), but Smith rests with the comfort in his mind that Ward doesn’t usually hurt his opponents.

That’s what Smith feels and that’s what Carl Froch believes as well. Well, we’re going to see if Smith is right about that when he gets inside the ring on Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

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Will Andre Ward be the same fighter he once was?

ward434By Allan Fox: After nearly two years of inactivity, WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) returns to the ring on Saturday night to fight Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) at a catch-weight of 172 pounds at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Ward is 31 now, and he hasn’t fought since 2013 when he beat Edwin Rodriguez by a 12 round unanimous decision. Ward has fought only twice in the past four years since winning the Super Six tournament in 2011.

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Andre Ward: Paul Smith will be hit early and often on Saturday

ward56By Scott Gilfoid: Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) plans on not letting Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) into the fight this Saturday in their catch-weight fight at 172 pounds in Oakland, California. Ward says he’s going to get off to a quick start and not let the 32-year-old Smith get his own game started.

Smith thinks that Ward’s inactivity will hurt him on Saturday night, as Ward hasn’t fought in a year and a half, but Ward feels differently. He’s been working out the entire time, and he’s ready to continue to dominate like he’s done his entire career, including when he was in the amateur ranks.

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Andre Ward vs. Paul Smith this Saturday, June 20th on BET

ward56By Scott Gilfoid: The super middleweight division’s best fighter Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) will be fighting this Saturday night in a fight televised on BET against the serviceable Paul Smith (35-5, 20 KOs) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Smith won’t be fighting or Ward’s WBA super middleweight title because the fight will take place at a catch-weight of 172 pounds.

There’s little chance that Ward will be beaten in this fight because Smith doesn’t have punching power, and he’s quite slow and not someone that is going to be able to get his shots off fast enough to bother Ward. Smith, 32, is obviously not a great opponent, but Ward needed a body to face for him to get the rust out.

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