Andre Ward couldn’t have scripted his 175 pound debut any better if he tried. The former king of the super middleweight division has officially busted onto the scene of his new weight class, and he did so in style by dominating Sullivan Barrera. Ward proved himself an immediate force at light heavyweight by thoroughly outclassing the Cuban boxer, who was the #1 contender for Sergey Kovalev’s IBF championship entering the contest. Ward was awarded a unanimous decision victory.
Ward successfully answered a lot of questions. He proved that he can effectively make the transition from 168 to 175, and he exhibited respectable power moving up, even managing to drop Barrera with a brilliantly timed left hook midway through round 3. He also displayed a minimal amount of ring rust, and while he did seem less efficient than fans have grown accustomed to seeing from him in the past, he was still exceptionally sharp given his high level of inactivity in recent years. Ward also showed that he still has excellent speed, top flight footwork, impeccable timing, mesmerising defense, and the ability to absorb flush shots from a bonafide light heavyweight puncher.
With the victory, Ward officially takes his first step towards what is expected to be an inevitable showdown against Sergey Kovalev – the man widely regarded as the best light heavyweight on the planet – some time either later this year, or early next year. Ward and Kovalev are both expected to take at least one more fight before the wouldbe “clash of boxing titans” comes to fruition.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner provides a brief recap into the fight, providing one man’s worthless opinion on why Andre Ward was able to make things look so easy against an opponent who many observers expected to pose a stiff challenge for Ward.
Please watch and enjoy the video!