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Andre Ward kept moving forward in the Super Six Tournament last night at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA as the world’s top super middleweight overcame a tough challenge in the early rounds from former IBF middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham and retained his WBA crown via unanimous decision.
Abraham is using the jab in the first, applying pressure, backing up Ward. Ward using his jab to disrupt Abraham and is constantly moving, feinting. Abraham tries a few big punches that Ward evades. Abraham looks more active in the earlier rounds than he usually does while Ward is being very cautious. Ward goes forward at round’s end, chases Abraham over the course of the last seconds.
Ward starting to be more assertive in the second, jabbing to the body and hooking the forward marching Abraham. Abraham starts using the jab, goes to the body, Ward retaliates with the same but strays a bit low. Abraham stalking, Ward starts getting very evasive. Abraham tries a combination, lands a right to the head. Ward bulls Abraham into the ropes and throws a head body combo to a shelled up Abraham. Abraham lands a good body combination and Ward instantly puts more distance between the two.
Abraham gets close and Ward grabs him around the waist, Abraham whales away with his right to Ward’s midsection as Ward pins him on the ropes and the clinch is broken by the referee, who tells Abraham off. Abraham misses with a windmill right, Ward grabs him around the waist again. Abraham is more confident now and lets go with both hands to head and body, the last right lands to the head. Ward tries to hold him off with the jab, Abraham ends the round with another head body combination but Ward blocks the final right this time.
Ward is looking to regain control in the third frame and backs Abraham up with the jab and scores a hard right to the body. Ward keeping distance, using the jab and occasional harder shot. Abraham advancing with a high guard, trying to cut off the ring. Abraham begins jabbing again, gets in a good one, while Ward gets a good jab in to the pit of Abraham’s stomach. Ward counters an Abraham jab with a better one. Ward stops Abraham’s progress with a nice jab. Abraham tries jabbing his way in but Ward is moving well and “King Arthur’ can’t get off any power shots.
Abraham gets in close and bangs a good right into Ward’s head. Ward takes it well but gets on his bike, avoids Abraham’s follow up with a good clinch. Ward suddenly goes on the attack with the jab, chases Abraham. Abraham tries a huge right, misses badly. Ward jabs to the stomach. Abraham counters a Ward jab with a good left to the body but misses a clubbing right before they get tangled. Abraham throws a jab and misses with another overhand right. Ward backs him onto the ropes, lands a left to the body. Ward blocks a right. A few exchanges occur but nothing lands before the clinching.
Ward jabbing well again in the fourth. Abraham ducks a big right when Ward suddenly launches forward. Abraham holding a high guard, with no jab, and can’t get close to Ward, who keeps circling, jabbing. A few aborted exchanges end in clinches. Ward gets aggressive, throws a few combinations that only hits glove. Abraham stalking, Ward using the jab but then rushes Abraham, reeling off a combination in which a right gets in upstairs.
Ward lands a good body combination. Abraham using the jab, misses a combination. A brief exchange ends in a tangle and Ward gets a telling off by the ref for hitting on the break, which evolves into an admonishing for both fighters. Abraham gets inside behind a jab and lands a good right to Ward’s head. A confident Abraham is now launching forward, slinging punches with abandon, but they miss. Ward sneers and tries cooling him down with the jab but Abraham gets in the right of a one, two combination. Ward getting more fluid now, gets in a nice left hook off a double jab. Ward gets in a couple shots from a combination past Abraham’s guard.
Ward starts the fifth working well off the jab, lands a left hook, then a jab to the body. Abraham looks a little tired. Ward gets in a right, keeping Abraham defensive and off balance with the jab. Abraham blocks a right, starts jabbing and Ward gets on his bike. Abraham lands a right to the body. Ward retaliates but misses with a combination. Ward gets in a jab to the beltline, sees that it is taking the steam out of his opponent and does it again, Abraham gestures that it was low.
Ward holding off Abraham with the jab, lands a glancing right to the body, gets told by the ref to keep the punches higher. Ward blocks a left hook. Abraham gets in a one-two. Ward misses a right and they trade jabs. Abraham lands a jab to the stomach. Ward comes forward, walks into a clubbing Abraham right. Ward aggressively comes forward with sharp jabs in response. Ward tries staving off Abraham with a stiff arm left but Abraham gets in a wild left upstairs. The ref grabs Abraham to pull him off and Ward blatantly nails Abraham with a left hook while this is occurring, the second time he’s hit on the break. No point is taken, just an admonishing. Abraham is getting in hard rights to the body during clinches. Abraham misses a big left. The round ends in a big messy tangle.
The sixth sees Ward starting strong, throwing combinations behind the jab, but Abraham blocking behind his high guard. Abraham trying to come forward but Ward’s jabs, mobility and counters are making that difficult. Abraham looks winded as he’s knocked into the ropes by a jab. Ward unloading big right hands that Abraham is ducking until a half decent one gets through. Abraham gets in close and unleashes about 15 punches to Ward’s sides followed by a left that glances Ward’s head before a clinch.
Ward gets in a sharp jab before Abraham headlocks him. Abraham misses a wild left, headlocks Ward again. Ward putting a defensive Abraham under pressure now, gets in an uppercut, backing Abraham up, gets in a good body shot. Abraham misses a few jabs before Ward grabs him and they wrestle. Ward drives Abraham back with punches and gets a left hook past his guard. Ward is wearing Abraham down. Abraham, looking a bit desperate, misses with a huge left hook. Abraham looks very tired as he walks back to his corner.
As always, Ward initiates first, driving Abraham back with punches against the high guard gloves but a few whipping body shots get through to start the seventh. Abraham shells up to block head punches and as a result, Ward is slipping in very hard rights and lefts to Abraham’s sides. Abraham comes forward but isn’t throwing anything at all, perhaps resting or waiting for an opening. Finally Abraham closes distance and misses a jab before Ward clinches. Ward is starting to take over, controlling when and where the exchanges take place.
Abraham tries an assault but doesn’t land anything before Ward wraps him up. Ward continues the body shots and they are having a withering effect. Abraham can’t get anything going and gets hit with an uppercut. Abraham gets in another multi-punch combination to the body and looks very frustrated. Abraham misses with a right and Ward drives him back with a good combination highlighted by an uppercut that gets in. Ward switches to southpaw momentarily but doesn’t land anything effective. Ward gets in a right before the bell.
Abraham starts off the eighth trying to engage Ward rather than just covering up but is getting out-jabbed. As Abraham covers up, Ward gets in a nice right to the body and left to the head. Abraham drives forward, lands a right to the chest then misses a big left and Ward retaliates but misses with a long right. Abraham fighting his tendency to shell up but can’t land the jabs he’s trying as Ward gets on his bike. Abraham missed a big right but gets one in on a ducking Ward. Abraham tries the same thing again but misses.
They trade jabs and then good body shots in a clinch. Abraham holds his left down at his thigh, perhaps trying to draw a right hand from Ward. Abraham misses a big left and gets driven back by lots of leather. There’s some close quarters exchanges and clinches that are getting rough as both fighters land a few and miss more. Abraham rushes forward, guns firing but hits nothing. Ward gets in a jab, Abraham misses with a right but gets one in to the body before he’s grabbed in a clinch. Abraham gets in a lunging left and tries it again but Ward ducks. There’s a wild exchange at the bell.
Abraham scores a jab to open the ninth but is soon shelled up again and Ward scores with jabs and a left to the body. Ward jabs to Abraham’s stomach as the challenger goes defensive again with gloves up. Ward starts to work right hands in with the ubiquitous jabs before ripping a hard left to Abraham’s ribs. Abraham jabbing again but misses the target and then misses a big right. Ward gets in two lefts, Abraham a left during a wild exchange.
Abraham misses a right, gets caught with one in return. Ward lands a head, body combination after Abraham misses a couple on the way in. Abraham tries to jab again but gets outboxed before he grabs Ward in a headlock and throws a right to the ribs with no warning from the ref. Ward is grabbing Abraham anytime he gets close. Abraham lets his hands go when he gets inside but is stifled as Ward wraps him up. Abraham misses a left and gets caught with a good left from Ward at the bell.
Ward starting to load up on the shots between the jabs he’s throwing at the high guard of Abraham and they look like they’re having an effect on the ex-middleweight king. Abraham just following Ward around the ring, not throwing anything and getting punched as a result. Abraham lands a jab and emboldened, he lands a hard, long right to the retreating Ward’s ribs, and is pressuring the champion well. Abraham lands a left but Ward answers back with the same before popping in a right and then a jab to the beltline, which Abraham indicates was low. Undeterred, Ward does it again.
Abraham is back to standing still, gloves up and Ward throws without worrying about return fire. Abraham indicates to Ward to ‘bring it’ but offers nothing in return until he manages to get in a few good shots when Ward tries to clinch. Abraham misses a big right and looks tired as Ward goes back to throwing punches at the gloved up challenger. Abraham drops his gloves for a moment and Ward sneaks in a hard left to the stomach. After fielding a few right hands, Abraham reels off good body shots with both hands but it has no effect. In the closing seconds of the round, Ward pressures Abraham, who gets in a few good punches but it’s too little, too late.
Abraham jabs to the body at the start of the eleventh but gets popped by two upstairs in return. Ward lands another and Abraham misses with a big counter right. Abraham gets in a good right, misses with a left and Ward retaliates with a few shots, during which a left to the body lands. They trade jabs. Abraham gets in a right to the body but is back to getting jabbed again. Abraham gloves up and gets caught with a left hook. Ward lets his hands go and lands hard lefts and rights.
Abraham drops his hands and tries trading but can’t get anything going so he gloves up again and eats punches. Ward gets on his bike, Abraham catches him and lands a few body shots before rushing in and missing a wild one-two. Abraham goes off balance after missing with a wild swing and Ward capitalizes with a few shots before Abraham gets in a right to the body. Abraham lunges in, touching off a wild exchange in which nothing lands. Abraham scores with an overhand right before the round ends with a couple of awkward clinches.
Going into the last round, Abraham definitely needs a KO to win this. He is more ambitious, using the jab to try and set up a big shot but Ward isn’t playing along and is counter-punching well. Abraham goes static again and Ward is taking advantage of the opportunity. Abraham tries a big punch but gets nowhere. The challenger rushes in twice with lefts but isn’t effective. Abraham misses a wild left and gets nailed with a good Ward left in return.
Ward misses a right hand. Abraham lands a left but again is hit with the same shot in return. Ward lands a good jab and ducks an Abraham left. Abraham lunges forward and whiffs a windmill left. Abraham now throwing for the fences with just about every attempt, as he should be, but isn’t finding the target. There’s a good exchange of body shots on the inside before they’re broken apart by the referee. Ward bulls Abraham into the ropes and gets in a good right. Abraham gets in a couple of good shots at the end but Ward isn’t bothered and keeps the challenger from gaining any ground.
The official scores are read and Ward retains via margins of 120-108, 118-110 and 118-111. Ward stays undefeated at 24-0 (13), retaining the WBA title for the third time. Abraham falls to 32-3 (26), having now lost three of his last four appearances.
