By Paul Lam: On Saturday, former super middleweight monarch Andre Ward will make his debut at the full light heavyweight limit against top-ranked contender Sullivan Barrera in his hometown of Oakland, California in what promises to be an intriguing clash, not least because victory for Ward will secure a mouth-watering showdown with WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev later this year on HBO that would be one of the biggest boxing events of 2016.
In 2012 Ward was in his prime and on top of the world, figuratively and literally. Having swept aside the cream of the super middleweight division in the Super Six tournament, he defended his titles against reigning light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who came down in weight for the bout, and clinically outclassed him en route to a tenth round TKO victory.
In the wake of this triumph, Ward featured near the top of most boxing pound-for-pound lists and many tipped him to inherit the coveted number one spot then occupied by Floyd Mayweather.
Four long years have passed since then. A combination of injuries and a protracted promotional dispute have limited Ward to only two fights in that period, most recently in June last year when he stopped an out-of-shape and overmatched Paul Smith Jr in the ninth round of what resembled a glorified sparring session for the former champion. Ward is now thirty two years of age, leaving boxing aficionados to speculate how much missing his prime years might have taken out of him.
Barrera will provide the barometer for that. He boasts a strong amateur background in his native Cuba, athleticism and heavy hands which have brought him an undefeated record of 17-0 with 12 knockouts. It is no secret that Barrera has wanted to fight Ward for some time. He was waging a war of words with his would-be opponent on social media even before the fight was officially announced. He and his trainer, Abel Sanchez, have been brimming with confidence in the lead-up to Saturday night; Sanchez declared recently that he feels Barrera is too good for Ward at this stage in his career. The implication being that they are catching Ward at the right time and, by extension, he has lost something due to the long layoff. It is a big presumption to make, but Barrera’s chances of causing the upset may well hinge on it.
Let us cut to the chase. There is a reason why Ward was at one time regarded as a pound for pound star. He is simply one of the most accomplished boxers of his generation; a man who has not lost a boxing match since he was twelve years old. He did not just beat world-class fighters like Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Dawson. He did so with ease and made them look downright silly at times. In contrast, Barrera’s best wins have come against a completely shot-to-bits Jeff Lacy and shopworn fringe contender Karo Murat, neither of whom come remotely close to matching the calibre of Ward’s opposition.
It seems to me that too much has been made of Barrera’s size advantage. He will be the bigger man on the night of the fight, but not by nearly as much as one might think. Lest we forget, Ward fought as a light-heavyweight as an amateur and of course won an Olympic Gold Medal at that weight. At super-middleweight few could match him for pure physical strength – who can forget the strange sight of Carl Froch getting outmuscled – and there’s no reason to think that moving up in weight would compromise this. In between the Lacy and Murat wins, Barrera faced a far smaller opponent in French journeyman Hakim Zoulikha who had lost his last three fights and been stopped twice previously in his career. Despite this, Barrera struggled to adjust, left himself open to incoming fire and was even rocked a few times by his unheralded and undersized opponent before finally putting him away in the eighth round of a fight that was far more competitive than anyone expected. In addition to exposing some of Barrera’s flaws, it demonstrated that, in spite of being heavy-handed, he does not have that one hitter quitter that others in the division like Kovalev, Adonis Stevenson and Artur Beterbiev possess. Consider it another factor in favour of Ward who, since getting dropped early in his professional career against Darnell Boone when he was still draining himself to make the middleweight limit, has demonstrated a reliable chin when required.
Far too much has also been made of Barrera’s amateur pedigree by those hyping his chances against Ward. The Cuban amateur system is legendary within the world of boxing. To the extent that terms such as ‘Cuban amateur standout’, ‘Cuban heritage’ or even ‘trained with the Cuban amateur team’ have assumed a rhetorical significance that borders on sycophantic veneration. The achievements of the Cuban amateur boxing system are to be respected, but, as I have stated in a previous article, for every Joel Casamayor, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Erislandy Lara there has been a Yan Barthelemy, Yordanis Despaigne or Umberto Savigne. Being schooled in the Cuban style or even being successful within its amateur ranks is no guarantee of professional success. Barrera has shown himself to be a capable pro thus far, but has hardly set the world or his mediocre opposition alight.
Furthermore, while Ward is coming to the end of what are generally regarded as a boxer’s prime years, Barrera is no spring chicken himself. At thirty four years of age, he is actually the older man. If Ward has lost anything during his spell of inactivity – and realistically, he probably has – will it really be enough for Barrera, a good but not great fighter, to exploit? A quick rewind of the tape to Ward fighting at the height of his powers should be sufficient to draw a conclusion.
Prediction: The Super Six version of Ward is in all likelihood gone and never to be seen again. What is left behind though is at the very least still a top-notch fighter more than capable of handling a decent but unspectacular foe such as Barrera. Ward may not be at his dazzling best on Saturday night, but he will still win comfortably on points. Next up will be Kovalev, a far sterner test and the chance to prove he is still a truly great fighter.
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