Left-Hook Lounge: Is Ward the New P4P King?, Is This Pacquiao’s Last Fight?, Who Next for Andre Ward?

433Dexter R. (Tampa, FL): I think it’s time Andre Ward gets serious consideration in the P4P discussion. Is it far-fetched (in your opinion) to label him as the best P4P fighter in the sport?

Vivek W. (ESB): I’ve been a huge Andre Ward fan from day one, and back in 2009 when people were laughing at me and questioning him, I said with confidence, (feel free to check the archives), that he would not only win the Super Six Tournament, but in my estimation, was already viewed as the #2 P4P fighter in the sport, trailing only behind Floyd Mayweather. That being said, perspective should always be measured down the center, with few emotions attached. Bottom line, Ward’s performance was as brilliant as you can ask, coming off such a major injury and lengthy layoff. He performed to perfection with poise and brilliance. I have nothing but praise for him, but when we speak along the lines of perspective, it’s important to note that this victory came over Edwin Rodriguez. Think about that!

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Fury Vs. Haye is off. Again! Haye has shoulder surgery, career may be over

haye7It looks like those fight fans who remained interested in seeing Tyson Fury get it on with David Haye will be disappointed on a permanent basis. The heavily hyped British heavyweight showdown, that was postponed from September due to a cut suffered by Haye in some late sparring, has been called off for a second time – this time due to shoulder surgery Haye underwent in Germany this past Thursday.

And now, with some experts telling Haye he must retire from the ring, Team-Fury are searching for a replacement foe for the February 8th date the Haye fight was rescheduled for at The Phones 4U Arena in Manchester (the fight set to go out live on Sky Box Office).

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Carl Froch or GGG: Who Would Make More Sense For Ward To Face Next?

froch673When it comes to leaving no doubt in the eyes of the boxing press and the fans, ‘Son Of God’ is a virtuoso. Being a second best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Andre Ward has to not only sweat bullets when it comes to training, but perform in a way that suggests his absolute dominance from bell to bell.

Yesterday, after the longest layoff in his career paired with a shoulder surgery, Andre Ward left his ring rust at home, dominating the previously unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez in a fashion that proves his ownership of being a true pound-for-pound champion, dictating that Ward is a force that just might plow through the rest of the top rated competition in a similar fashion.

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Ward – Rodriguez Post Fight Quotes and Photos

423Two days ago defending WBA and Ring Magazine Champion Andre “S.O.G”. Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) declared that he would come back better than ever after a 14-month layoff, and he lived up to his claim on Saturday night by dominating challenger Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KOs) in earning a lopsided unanimous decision victory at the Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.

Scores were 118-106, 117-107, 116-108.

Billed as “THE RETURN”, the HBO® World Championship Boxing televised main event was the headliner of a nine-bout card presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions and sponsored by Toyota, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and the City of Ontario. The Ward-Rodriguez bout was presented in association with S.O.G. Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.

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14 mo’s off, no problem – Andre Ward dominates Edwin Rodriquez

433When the last time you saw an 8/7 round? That’s what happened at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, CA when referee Jack Reiss got very angry at both Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriquez and Andre S.O.G. Ward. A lot of punches were flying in the fourth round. The problem was quite a few of then came after Reiss called “break”. One of those shots caught him, and Reiss was pissed! He halted the action and angrily signaled both men to neutral corners. Then he advised each of the three judges to deduct two points from each man. He also explained he was hit and wanted both men fined, emphasizing he would leave it up to the commission as to the amount. When he finally waved both men back to center ring, he cautioned them he wasn’t going to put up with the dirty tactics, and if it continued he would DQ one or both and they wouldn’t get paid!

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Tua v Ustinov round by round – Ustinov Beats Tua

tua432323Hamilton City, Claudelands Showgrounds: Ringside: Chants of Tua! Tua go up! The ring announcer gets an A plus for animation. Never quite seen or heard a ring announcer throw himself around the ring with so much vigour and enthusiasm in introducing fighters. Fair to say he is an excitable type of chap.

Alexander Ustinov ring walk: All you can really say about the man is he is one very big piece of humanity. His ring walk music of the Russian variety is music not often heard in this part of the world. He leaps the top rope of the ring with ease and that impressed the hell out of the crowd. At 6ft 8 and 139 kilograms (according to ring announcer) his immensity makes him a proposition for the sheer fact of his immensity – he carries no excess weight and appears in exceptional condition.

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Ward schools Rodriguez

ward5As was expected, WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KO’s) took the bigger, slower Edwin Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KO’s) to school tonight in pounding out a dominating 12 round unanimous decision at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California, USA. The judges scored it 118-106, 117-107 and 116-108.

The fight was ugly at times due to the back and forth roughhouse tactics that both fighters used. Ward turned the fight to the inside in the first two rounds with him smothering the bigger Rodriguez’s shots. But after the 2nd round, Ward began to use more separation to take advantage of his superior hand speed to dominate the action.

In the 4th round, Rodriguez wrapped Ward into a headlock and pushed him to the ropes. Ward then nailed Rodriguez with a big left hand thrown while still being held in the headlock. Referee Jack Reiss then called for a break, but both fighters ignored him and continued to throw punches.

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DeGale defeats Davis by one-sided decision

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WBC Silver super middleweight champion James DeGale (17-1, 11 KO’s) easily beat American Dyah Davis (22-4-1, 10 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous tonight in a one-sided fashion at the the Glow, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent, United Kingdom. DeGale made the fight much tougher than it should have by wasting lots of energy clowning around and trying to show off for the crowd.

If DeGale had instead channeled his showboating energy into throwing flurries, he probably would have stopped Davis within six rounds instead of having to go the distance. The judges scores were 118-110, 118-110 and 118-110. The scores were more than fair, because Davis didn’t do enough with his offense to make the fight a competitive one.

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Vyacheslav Glazkov beats Garrett Wilson

801Vyacheslav Glazkov (16-0, 11 KO’s) defeated the shorter replacement opponent Garrett Wilson (13-7-1, 6 KO’s) by a 10 round unanimous decision that was a little more competitive than the scores suggested on Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, in Verona, New York, USA. Wilson, a cruiserweight that was picked out to replace heavyweight Tomasz Adamek, seemed to energize the Verona crowd with huge heart in trying to win against a much bigger fighter than him in Glazkov. The judges scored the fight 97-93, 98-92, 99-91.

The 6’3″ Glazkov looked huge in the ring against the 5’9″ Wilson, and it seemed incredibly strange to have two fighters so different from each other fighting on national television in the U.S. Wilson gave it his all, but it’s too bad that Main Events couldn’t find an actual heavyweight for Glazkov to fight instead of a short cruiserweight.

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Andre Ward lays down gauntlet by declaring to knockout ‘delusional’ Froch in rematch

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Super-middleweight king Andre Ward has laid down the gauntlet to Carl Froch, declaring he can knockout the ‘delusional’ British star in a world title unification rematch.

The WBA Super and Ring Magazine world champion has opened the door to a potential blockbuster matchup against the reigning IBF world champion Froch, should both men come through their upcoming battles.

Ward faces off against the unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez in Ontario, California this weekend, a fight you can see live and exclusive on BoxNation, with Froch taking on the rising George Groves in a grudge match later this month.

Should both prevail, Ward is convinced that a super-fight could be next up for the 168-pound division’s two top dogs.

“I think a fight with Froch is definitely something that could happen,” said Ward.

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