Andre Ward
SHOWTIME MAIN EVENT TONIGHT TO END EARLY?
Los Angeles, CA– There’s some argument as to who is the best fighter in the super middleweight (168 lbs) division. Saturday night in nearby Carson, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) defends his WBA & World title against formidable former IBF middleweight (160) champ, “King Arthur” Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs) in the Super Six World Boxing Classic Semi Final on Showtime. The question isn’t whether or not the heavy favorite Ward will win this contest, but if he will put on a performance that will remove some of his skeptics.
THE “KING” IS LOOKING FOR THAT ONE-PUNCH KO!
The one-dimensional Abraham, a proven power puncher at 160 has proven less effective at the higher weight, losing his last two bouts. Ward is faster, versatile, strong very intelligent and his amateur resume is stellar seeing he won the Gold at the 2004 Olympics at 178 lbs. Abraham’s best shot is to turn this into a brawl. However Ward, adept at in-fighting, should be able to control the shorter fighter whether the bouts waged from the outside or inside. An impressive victory (especially a stoppage over Abraham who has never lost within the distance) would cement him as the clear favorite over the winner of the Glen Johnson (51-14-2, 35 KOs) and Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KOs) bout next month, who he would face in the final of the aforementioned Super Six tourney.
THEN THERE’S THAT BRUTE NAMED LUCIEN BUTE
On the outside looking in is the often overrated Romanian, (now living in Montreal Canada) IBF super middleweight belt-holder Lucian Bute (28-0,23 KOs) a solid professional and champion (who is not a participant in the tournament), but has yet to face any of the top fighters in the division thus his lofty status is unwarranted. Listed below are KP’s top ten 168 pounders.
1. Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs)
2. Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KOs)
3. Lucian Bute (28-0, 23 KOs)
4. Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs)
5. Glen Johnson (51-14-2, 35 KOs)
6. Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs)
7. Robert Stieglitz (40-2, 23 KOs)
8. Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs)
9. Kelly Pavlik (37-2, 32 KOs)
10. Peter Quillian (24-0, 18 KOs)
Kevin “KP” Perry