by James Slater – New WBA super-middleweight champion Andre “S.O.G” Ward sure made a massive impression in his “Super Six” debut a few days ago, when he wrenched both the world title and the position of favourite to win the tournament from Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler. The 25-year-old who captured a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics shocked the defending WBA champion, and now looks ahead to his next fight in the exciting tournament.
Scheduled to face the struggling Jermain Taylor – a man who has been stopped in the last round of his last two fights and who has yet to win a bout in the Show Time Tourney – Ward will clash with the former middleweight king on March 3rd, at a site yet to be determined. This is the word coming from FightNews.com, and they report how Ward’s promoter Dan Goossen is working on the venue – with Ward’s hometown of Oakland being a possibility, along with Las Vegas.
Needless to say, wherever the fight is held, the clever, switch-hitting Ward will enter the ring as a pretty big favourite.. Badly KO’d by Arthur Abraham in his October debut in “Super Six,” the man known as “Bad Intentions” made people wonder if he would even stay in the tournament. Retirement looked a serious possibility for the Arkansas man who twice managed to defeat the legendary Bernard Hopkins down at 160-pounds. It will take another special performance by the 31-year-old if he’s to derail new star Ward.
2010 is going to be a great year for the 168-pound division, and the super-middleweight division might just become the hottest in the sport. With Ward-Taylor to look forward to, along with Carl Froch-Kessler and Abraham-Andre Dirrell also set to take place as the thrilling tournament continues, fans have a number of dates to look out for. And the 168-pound excitement isn’t just limited to the “Super Six,” what with IBF champ Lucian Bute currently looking like one of the best in the world at the weight. If only Bute was in the tournament!
Back to Ward-Taylor, though, and though he will be a big favourite and he knows it, Ward says he will not underestimate Taylor, 28-4-1(17) one bit. Team-Ward, as quoted by FightNews, say they respect Taylor as a dangerous fighter because he was competitive for the first 11-rounds of his losing bouts with Froch and then Ward.
“Taylor’s problem was that he stopped improving following winning the [middleweight] title,” Ward said. “I will not repeat this mistake and will fight to continue improving and to stay champion.”
Who would bet against this talented boxer doing just that?