I?VE been bullish on Andre Ward for quite some time now, and it was quite fulfilling to see him finally become boxing?s next big superstar.
He became a certified star when he won the Super Six Super middleweight tournament, but took it to a higher level when he stopped light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson in 10 rounds last Sunday.
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Not since Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins fought at 160 lbs. two decades ago has there been such a compelling matchup between two topnotch American boxers outside of the heavyweight division, fighting each other at their primes.
Of course, when Jones and Hopkins first fought, we had no inkling then of how great they would later become. But Ward vs. Dawson had all the makings and trappings of a classic.
RECORDS. Ward is currently unbeaten with a sterling record of 26 wins and 14 knockouts. His victims include Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Alan Green and Carl Froch.
But what?s even more impressive is that he defeated the aforementioned fighters at their primes. Ward defeated Froch at the Super Six finale, but just a few months ago, Froch knocked out previously undefeated Lucian Bute.
When Ward beat Kessler in 2009, the talented Danish fighter only had one blemish in his career which was via close decision to Joe Calzaghe.
Dawson?s (31-2, 17KOs) accomplishments aren?t too shabby either.
He handed a prime Tomasz Adamek his first loss in 2007. Of course, we all know how Adamek later became a cruiserweight champion and a holder of the WBO NABO heavyweight title. The only other loss on Adamek?s record was inflicted by Vitali Klitschko.
Dawson defeated Glen Jonhson twice and did the same with Antonio Tarver.
And before losing to Ward, Dawson soundly defeated the legendary Bernard Hopkins in a rematch of their uneventful first bout.
THE FIGHT. Ward was so dominant that it was?at least to this Last Rounder, quite unexpected.
The first two rounds were close, but Dawson shaded them with his jab while Ward tried to look for openings and close the distance against his rangier opponent.
Things began to unravel in the third round when Ward knocked Dawson down with a sneaky left hook and did it again with the same punch in the fourth.
He continued to brutalize Dawson during exchanges and in the 10th, Dawson himself called for the denouement of the bout after taking a barrage of unanswered blows.
POUND FOR POUND? As dominant a performance that was, and despite my profuse praises of Ward, I cannot anoint him the new pound-for-pound king as some writers have suggested. While there is no clear cut definition of what pound-for-pound best means, it is generally accepted that the term refers to a fighter?s skill level in relation to fighters from different weight classes.
For example, it?s difficult to ascertain how good a lightweight fighter is, compared to a heavyweight champion simply because they can never meet in a real fight.
Thus, we can only hypothetically speculate as to their relative worth. This being so, a fighter who actually moves up a weight class and beats fighters bigger than him should have a higher pound for pound rank.
Upon that consideration, I cannot place Ward higher than Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao has won 8 titles in an as many divisions, fighting all the way from flyweight to the welterweight.
Mayweather has defeated fighters all the way from junior lightweight to junior middleweight
Ward, on the other hand, has only won titles at 168 lbs. I cannot even rank him higher than his good friend, Nonito Donaire who is no. 3 at my list since ?The Filipino Flash? has won titles in 4 weight classes.
The itinerant fighter, who successfully travels unencumbered through weight classes deservedly merits a higher spot in the rankings.
I have Ward now at no. 4, with Sergio Martinez at no. 5 but all that could change depending on how Martinez fares against Julio Cesar Chavez this Sunday in another blockbuster mega-fight.
LAST ROUNDS. It?s on my bro, Atty. Ramsey Quijano, and little cherubs Theanna Zosa Tan and Gavin Andreas Naya who are celebrating their birthdays this week. Cheers!
