By Adam Matson March 23rd, 2008 All Ringside Boxing
If Rubin Williams truly was Andre Ward's first test as a professional, then he passed the exam with relative ease. Fighting in front of a restless home crowd in San Jose on Thursday night, Ward shut out his opponent before a cut forced an end to the bout at the closing of round seven.
The action started slowly, with neither fighter doing much more then exchanging jabs for the better part of two rounds. Yet even the early round jabs foreshadowed what was to be a dominant night for the 2004 Olympic Gold Medallist Andre Ward.
While Ward's jabs were fast and forceful, Williams offered slow, telegraphed jabs that placed Ward in no danger. An accidental clash of heads highlighted the action in the second round, leaving a laceration over the left eye of Williams.
Perhaps smelling blood, Ward stepped on the proverbial gas pedal in round three, switching to a southpaw stance and landing a pair of sizzling straight left hands that stopped Williams in his tracks as he attempted to move forward.
The Oakland native continued to pour it on in the fourth round, scoring his best punch of the night, a thunderous left uppercut that rocked Williams and had the crowd on it's feet. Ward poured it on a hapless Williams, landing calculated combinations of left hooks and uppercuts as Rubin lay guarded on the ropes. More...
