Ringside Boxing Report: Andre Ward vs. Shelby Pudwill

© Cate McKeating / Saddo Boxing

In front of a standing room only crowd on Saturday night at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA, WBC super middleweight number one contender Andre Ward, 20-0 (13), showed focus and determination by blasting his way to a third round TKO victory over Shelby Pudwill, 22-4-1 (9).

Ward controlled the action from the opening bell, utilizing his superior speed and technical abilities to neutralize Pudwill are every action.

Pudwill was unable to land any effective clean shots on Ward throughout the bout, further demonstrating the Oakland native’s defensive abilities alongside his devastating speed.

By the middle of round three, Ward’s dominance was apparent and Pudwill was cut under his left eye by a flurry of shots as he found himself trapped against the ropes.

He went to the canvas following the exchange, but was never truly able to get himself into the fight. With the urging of Ward himself, the referee stopped the bout at 2:16 of the third round.

After the bout, Ward commented on his performance by stating, “It was a great victory, he tried to set me up with shots, but I was too fast.”

For Ward, this bout was viewed as a tune up for his upcoming Super Six Tournament bout against Mikkel Kessler to be held November 21 in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, CA.

“The tournament timing couldn’t be better,” Ward said in the post fight press conference, “it’s the best against the best and I know that he [Kessler] will bring his A game.”

When I asked Ward if he had seen the Kessler fight from earlier in the day, he showed his focus and drive by responding with a powerful, “Didn’t watch it, didn’t care.” He went on to elaborate, “I had my own fight to worry about. I got ten weeks to get ready for the Kessler bout.”

With the unprecedented tournament looming just around the corner, a dominating performance is exactly what Ward needed to build the confidence necessary to battle Kessler, by far his toughest opponent to date.

For anyone who witnessed Kessler’s destruction of Gusmyr Perdomo earlier in the day, it is clear that young Andre Ward is going to need every bit of that confidence.

In arguably the most intriguing bout of the evening, a trimmed down and fast James “Lights Out” Toney, 72-6-3 (44), scored an impressive second round TKO victory over the unimpressive Matthew Greer, 12-6 (11).

Weighing in at 217 pounds, his lowest weight in years, Toney once again had the bouncing legs and quick hands that has made him a future hall of famer.

Although Greer appeared out of shape and unprepared for a bout with the former four division world champion, Toney used his new fitness and always effective countering skills to produce an early stop to the evening.

From the opening round Toney punished Greer’s body with hard, digging hooks to set up his straight right to the head. In the middle of the first frame, Toney landed left hook to the body that sent Greer to the canvas.

The second round saw more of the same action as Toney pounded to the body which set up a series of hooks to the head, prompting Greer’s corner to throw in the towel. The official time of stoppage was 2:33 of the third round.

After the bout, Toney expressed a newfound energy and the same bravado that he has been known for his entire career. After the announcement of his name by Jimmy Lennon Jr., Toney grabbed the mic and stated, “And soon to be the next undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’m back baby.”

Although he never officially went away, the James Toney that fought tonight is in fact a different man that we have seen in recent years against Fres Oquendo and Samuel Peter.

If he continues his rigorous training regimen and if his trainer Shadeed Saluki can keep Toney’s mind focused on the task at hand, we could be seeing more from “Lights Out” in the near future.

Undefeated prospect Mike Dallas Jr,. 10-0-1 (2), handed New York native Vincent Arroyo, 9-1 (6), the first loss of his career with an impressive six round UD victory.

Dallas Jr. controlled the action from the opening bell, landing the cleaner shots against the very game Arroyo. “He tried to load up with every shot, but I out boxed him,” said Dallas Jr. afterward. The official score was 60-55 for Dallas Jr. on all cards.

In his second fight as a professional, Terrell Williams, 2-0 (1), stopped Joshua Zurfluh, 1-7-1 (0), at 1:55 seconds of the second round. Williams landed a hard left hook midway through the round, causing Zurfluh to turn away and quit fighting.

© Cate McKeating / Saddo Boxing