“I expected a tougher fight.”
Andre Ward gave his hometown fans at the Oracle Arena in Oakland reason to celebrate as he blasted and outworked Allan Green to defend his WBA super middleweight title Saturday night. Ward certainly was not expecting the lack luster performance from Allan Green and the WBA champion as well as others press side expected a much gamer and active Allan Green.
It never happened.
Andre Ward showed once again what true champions do. He improved upon his last outing and won in impressive fashion as he outworked, outscored and outfought Allan Green en route to a unanimous decision to successfully defend his WBA Super middleweight title. Ward won all rounds on the judges scorecards (120-108) and outclassed the Tulsa, OK native. He set the tone for the fight very early on using jabs to the head and body to move in and work on the inside of Green, systematically taking away his height and reach advantage.
“I did a change up. I wasn’t planning on fighting on the inside. He obliged me, so I said, ‘OK. He wants to fight inside, so this is where it’s going to be.’ He did a great job. He hung in there longer than I thought he would.”
It certainly worked in his favor as the shift in tactic befuddled the heavy handed challenger, who was never allowed to set in and land the huge hooks and punches he is known for. Green’s only competitive round came in the fourth as he landed a right hook that got the attention of Ward, who shook his head and waved him forward. It would be the last significant blow he would land as by the fifth round Green’s offensive arsenal resembled that of the country of Switzerland. Ward continued working and by the tenth round Green’s feet moved as if they were in concrete as Ward continued punishing the body up until the final bell.
“I knew he was going to do that, I knew he wouldn’t run,” as Green spoke on Ward’s Strategy. “I felt dead. I’ve had three training camps since December, and that really made me feel weak. Coming into this fight I wasn’t feeling my best. I couldn’t react to a lot of things,” said Green. He may off over trained for the biggest bout of his career as Green came in two pounds under the one-hundred and sixty eight pound limit.
As in any fight trash talk ran rampant the majority of which came from Allan Green. It certainly provided Ward with extra incentive for this bout, “His bullish demeanor motivated me,” he bluntly said.
“I feel like Kobe, we just worked hard and prepared for Green. I am Happy to come away with the win.”
The win over Green guarantees Ward’s spot in the semi-final of the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament. Andre Ward is now scheduled to fight friend Andre Dirrell in round three of the Super Six tournament on September 25th. He admits he has a heavy heart knowing he will fight Dirrell. Green who now drops to 29-2 will have a chance to redeem himself as he gets another title shot against WBC super middleweight champion Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler.
