Ward dominates Miranda
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
May 16, 2009
Last
night, in front of a crowd of 7,818, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre
Ward [19-0, 12 KOs ] scored his most impressive win to date by
earning a wide decision victory over former world title challenger
Edison Miranda [32-4, 28 KOs ] in the televised main event of a
special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation.
The win came in front of Ward’s Oakland, California hometown crowd at the Oracle Arena, marking the first time in his career that he has fought there. Ward won by scores of 119-109, 119-109, and a much too close 116-112 to silence the critics who thought Ward as being too soft and not having enough power to keep the heavy-handed Miranda off of him.
Many questions were answered about Ward over the course of this bout. One of the biggest questions was what would happen if Miranda was able to land a clean power shot on Ward, how would he react? Although those punches were few and far between, Miranda landed a few big left hooks over the course of the fight to which Ward had no reaction to. In the second round Miranda landed likely his biggest punch of the fight, a left hook up top, and Ward walked right through it and retaliated with a flashy combination.
Ward’s superior hand speed and footwork proved to be too much for Miranda; Ward was able to land two or three quick shots and move out of the way before Miranda was able to get anything off in return. On numerous occasions Ward was able to dart and duck out of the way of Miranda’s oncoming onslaught so well that Miranda’s poor footwork had him off balance and falling all over the ring.
Miranda, who did a lot of trash talking in the build-up for the fight, had no answer to Ward’s superior boxing ability from the opening bell, resorting to roughhouse tactics that resulted in a seemingly bad cut opening up on Ward due to a headbutt courtesy of Miranda. Ward seemed unaffected by the blood on his face and after pawing at it only a few times was able to go about his business like nothing had occurred. Ward’s cutman, Jacob Duran, deserves a ton of credit for making that cut be a non-factor in the end result of the fight.
After the fight, Ward made it known he wants to fight any of the four belt-holders at 168 pounds. The win over Miranda earned him a mandatory shot at WBC champion Carl Froch, which Ward responded to by saying “Let’s get it on”.
Many will still criticize Ward for not stopping Miranda, even though the only men able to accomplish that feat were Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham, two very hard-hitting 160 pound world champions. Ward was never a puncher and outboxed Miranda as well as he possibly could to where a shutout wouldn’t have been out of order.
In the televised co-feature, John Molina, Jr. [17-0, 13 KOs ] scored a knockout of veteran Frankie Archuleta [ 25-7-1, 14 KOs ] in the second round of a scheduled eight-round super featherweight bout. Archuleta had some good success before getting put down by a combination of shots from Molina that included an overhand right. Archuleta made it to his feet and did not look too hurt, but the referee waved off the fight, likely because Archuleta was shaking his head when asked if he wanted to continue.
The much slower Archuleta had early success going to the body. Molina was getting hit far too much before finally hurting Archuleta and putting him down. Hopefully, Goossen-Tutor can find a more suitable opponent for Molina in his next fight and really give him a good test.
Those who got their refreshments early may have missed 2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada [6-0, 6 KOs] notch another knockout on his belt by dispatching Brooklyn, New York’s Cory Jones [5-6, KO] in 1:31 of the opening round. After a tentative first minute, Jones would get dropped by a huge right hand and never fully recover. Jones would make it to his feet but Estrada would continue the onslaught near the ropes, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Jones was a late replacement for Oakland, California ’s Tony Hirsch who had to pull out after possibly tearing a rotator cuff. Hirsch was at the fight and hopes to get another shot at a fight with the ’08 Olympic standout.
In the first of two walkout bouts, Goossen super bantamweight prospect Rico Ramos [10-0, 6 KOs] of Pico Rivera, California scored a third round technical knockout of trial-horse Trinidad Mendoza [24-21-2, 19 KOs] Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico in a scheduled six-round bout. Ramos impressed the crowd with his handspeed and how well he mixed up his combinations. After an overwhelming amount of punishment absorbed by Mendoza, the fight was stopped t 1:37 of the third round. Ramos hopes to get back onto a similar track to how he started his career, where he fought eight times in seven months before sustaining an injury.
In the final walkout bout, Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield [9-0-1, 6 KOs ] of Daly City, California scored an impressive second round stoppage of the tough Roberto Valenzuela [49-47-2, 40 KOs ] of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico in a six-round welterweight bout to remain unbeaten. Mayfield looked superb in easily dominating a guy who has nearly 100 professional fights under his belt.
In an exciting four-round lightweight bout, Mel Crossty [3-0-1, KO] of Cincinnati, Ohio was held to a draw by Jaime Rodriguez [ 4-4-3, 2 KOs ] of Reno, Nevada in a competitive matchup.. UBR scored the bout 39-38 in favor of Crossty, scoring the first round even and the last two big for Crossty. Crossty’s superior ability came apparent in the last two rounds when he let his hands go and hurt the tough Reno fighter a couple of times.
Dan Goossen made it known he would like to bring back Ward to Oakland for another big fight. When asked if that meant Ward’s next fight would be in Oakland, Goossen responded “Now is that what I said? I would like to bring Andre back for whatever his next big fight is. I don’t want to have to go to England to fight Froch, I’d like to make that fight here.”
We learned that Ward is ready to take on the belt-holders at super middleweight, and it will be interesting to see if that is where he goes next or if he will fight another contender before going after gold.
The win came in front of Ward’s Oakland, California hometown crowd at the Oracle Arena, marking the first time in his career that he has fought there. Ward won by scores of 119-109, 119-109, and a much too close 116-112 to silence the critics who thought Ward as being too soft and not having enough power to keep the heavy-handed Miranda off of him.
Many questions were answered about Ward over the course of this bout. One of the biggest questions was what would happen if Miranda was able to land a clean power shot on Ward, how would he react? Although those punches were few and far between, Miranda landed a few big left hooks over the course of the fight to which Ward had no reaction to. In the second round Miranda landed likely his biggest punch of the fight, a left hook up top, and Ward walked right through it and retaliated with a flashy combination.
Ward’s superior hand speed and footwork proved to be too much for Miranda; Ward was able to land two or three quick shots and move out of the way before Miranda was able to get anything off in return. On numerous occasions Ward was able to dart and duck out of the way of Miranda’s oncoming onslaught so well that Miranda’s poor footwork had him off balance and falling all over the ring.
Miranda, who did a lot of trash talking in the build-up for the fight, had no answer to Ward’s superior boxing ability from the opening bell, resorting to roughhouse tactics that resulted in a seemingly bad cut opening up on Ward due to a headbutt courtesy of Miranda. Ward seemed unaffected by the blood on his face and after pawing at it only a few times was able to go about his business like nothing had occurred. Ward’s cutman, Jacob Duran, deserves a ton of credit for making that cut be a non-factor in the end result of the fight.
After the fight, Ward made it known he wants to fight any of the four belt-holders at 168 pounds. The win over Miranda earned him a mandatory shot at WBC champion Carl Froch, which Ward responded to by saying “Let’s get it on”.
Many will still criticize Ward for not stopping Miranda, even though the only men able to accomplish that feat were Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham, two very hard-hitting 160 pound world champions. Ward was never a puncher and outboxed Miranda as well as he possibly could to where a shutout wouldn’t have been out of order.
In the televised co-feature, John Molina, Jr. [17-0, 13 KOs ] scored a knockout of veteran Frankie Archuleta [ 25-7-1, 14 KOs ] in the second round of a scheduled eight-round super featherweight bout. Archuleta had some good success before getting put down by a combination of shots from Molina that included an overhand right. Archuleta made it to his feet and did not look too hurt, but the referee waved off the fight, likely because Archuleta was shaking his head when asked if he wanted to continue.
The much slower Archuleta had early success going to the body. Molina was getting hit far too much before finally hurting Archuleta and putting him down. Hopefully, Goossen-Tutor can find a more suitable opponent for Molina in his next fight and really give him a good test.
Those who got their refreshments early may have missed 2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada [6-0, 6 KOs] notch another knockout on his belt by dispatching Brooklyn, New York’s Cory Jones [5-6, KO] in 1:31 of the opening round. After a tentative first minute, Jones would get dropped by a huge right hand and never fully recover. Jones would make it to his feet but Estrada would continue the onslaught near the ropes, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Jones was a late replacement for Oakland, California ’s Tony Hirsch who had to pull out after possibly tearing a rotator cuff. Hirsch was at the fight and hopes to get another shot at a fight with the ’08 Olympic standout.
In the first of two walkout bouts, Goossen super bantamweight prospect Rico Ramos [10-0, 6 KOs] of Pico Rivera, California scored a third round technical knockout of trial-horse Trinidad Mendoza [24-21-2, 19 KOs] Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico in a scheduled six-round bout. Ramos impressed the crowd with his handspeed and how well he mixed up his combinations. After an overwhelming amount of punishment absorbed by Mendoza, the fight was stopped t 1:37 of the third round. Ramos hopes to get back onto a similar track to how he started his career, where he fought eight times in seven months before sustaining an injury.
In the final walkout bout, Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield [9-0-1, 6 KOs ] of Daly City, California scored an impressive second round stoppage of the tough Roberto Valenzuela [49-47-2, 40 KOs ] of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico in a six-round welterweight bout to remain unbeaten. Mayfield looked superb in easily dominating a guy who has nearly 100 professional fights under his belt.
In an exciting four-round lightweight bout, Mel Crossty [3-0-1, KO] of Cincinnati, Ohio was held to a draw by Jaime Rodriguez [ 4-4-3, 2 KOs ] of Reno, Nevada in a competitive matchup.. UBR scored the bout 39-38 in favor of Crossty, scoring the first round even and the last two big for Crossty. Crossty’s superior ability came apparent in the last two rounds when he let his hands go and hurt the tough Reno fighter a couple of times.
Dan Goossen made it known he would like to bring back Ward to Oakland for another big fight. When asked if that meant Ward’s next fight would be in Oakland, Goossen responded “Now is that what I said? I would like to bring Andre back for whatever his next big fight is. I don’t want to have to go to England to fight Froch, I’d like to make that fight here.”
We learned that Ward is ready to take on the belt-holders at super middleweight, and it will be interesting to see if that is where he goes next or if he will fight another contender before going after gold.
No comments:
Post a Comment