By Sam Gregory: The May 16th edition of ShoBox; The New Generation features former 2004 Olympic Gold medalist Andre Ward who will put his undefeated record along with his NABF and NABO belts on the line against the hard hitting Columbian Edison Miranda in a scheduled 12 round bout in the super middleweight division from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
In round 1, Ward suffered a cut above the left eye due to an accidental head butt. Ward came out fast and hard throwing several jabs and beating Miranda to the punch. Ward was the much busier man in the round.
In round 2 Ward switched to southpaw and landed a big left hand. Ward dictated the offensive flow of the fight landing hard jabs and solid left hooks. Ward was clearly out-boxing Miranda who landed a solid left but Ward countered with a left to the body. Ward ate a couple of Miranda’s left hands. Ward went toe to toe with Miranda in this round.
In round 3 Miranda got warded for using his head (head butts) he landed solid overhand right; Ward switched to southpaw and fired off a good combination; Ward landed several hard shots to win the round big. Ward landed a big left hand at the end of the round.
Round 4 Miranda came out pushing Ward into the ropes; Ward was able to punch his way out. Ward lands solid jab followed up with solid overhand right. Miranda ties up, ref separates the two; Ward lands big left to the body to the approval of the crowd and finishes the round strong.
Round 5 Ward lands a hard left to Miranda’s head; Ward shots a hard jab followed by combination t o the body; Miranda has no answer for Ward’s attack. Ward rips into Miranda hard with body shots. Ward throws a flurry of punches to Miranda’s head and body; Miranda stays square on the ropes with no answer to Ward’s attack.
Round 6 Ward is in total control; fighting on and off the ropes; Miranda throws uppercut that gets blocked. Miranda is bullied and driven back into the ropes. Miranda catches Ward with a right hand but Ward counters with combination.
59-55 for Ward on the unofficial score cards
Round 7 Miranda throws a big right hand; Ward backs into the ropes, clinches, and the ref separates them. Ward lands solid left; Ward is staying on the inside and able to land big; Miranda has no answer as Ward lands an-other big left hook. Ward is having his way with Miranda
Between rounds Miranda’s corner tells him he’s down
Round 8 Ward pushes Miranda around the ring; Ward turns Miranda and lands big uppercut to the body. Ward has Miranda in the corner landing shots at will. Ward is mugging Miranda; Ward is landing big body shots and pushing Miranda around the ring. Miranda looks spent at the end of the round
Round 9 Ward lands big left hook to the body; Miranda ties up, the ref separates them, and Miranda has little to nothing on his punches. Ward lands left hook to the approval of the crowd; Miranda swings wildly and lands nothing.
Round 10 Ward is landing shots accurately; Miranda has nothing left on his punches. Ward throws and lands his jab at will; Miranda ties up again; Ward backs up and fires his jab. Miranda gets warned for holding. Ward slips and falls, no knockdown.
Round 11 Ward comes out in southpaw stance throwing and landing his right jab. Ward lands an overhand left. Ward is dancing around the ring firing his jab; Miranda has his hands up; Ward lands to the body; Miranda drops his hands and gets caught with uppercut.
Round 12 Ward lands combination to the head; Miranda is barley on his feet, he puts his head down and tries to push Ward; Miranda misses wildly; Ward lands a combination, right to the head to close o9ut the round.
The fight goes to the judge’s score cards: 116-112, 119-109 and 119-109 for the winner by unanimous decision Andre Ward
Andre Ward improves his unbeaten record to 19-0 with 12 KO’s
Miranda falls to 32-4.