Saturday, November 16 2013 on HBO for the WBA Super Middleweight Title Andre Ward (26-0) vs. Edwin Rodriguez (24-o)- In my opinion, I see this fight being competitive for the first three rounds. I just see Rodriguez being the type of fighter that is going to highlight all of Ward?s strengths. Ward is going to do what he does best, and that is to beat the fight right out of his foe. I?m being told that shoulder surgery is extremely hard to come back from, But I do not see Wards 14 month shoulder injury lay off being too much of a concern. Rodriguez will have to push forward enough times to convince the judges that he is being productive in his approach. That is a lot easier said than done, especially against a master inside boxer like Ward. Rodriguez?s main weapon should be his over hand right shot, but he must do this after throwing a throw away left jab when stepping towards the inside. For Ward to win, Ward is just going to have to be himself and cuff his opponent and continue to punch through his target. Ward does this just about better than anyone I have seen, his feet on the inside turn and almost always seems to be in position to land a damaging blow. Rodriguez is going to have to circle out as much as possible and turn Ward enough times to cause him to stay away from what he really wants to do. Unfortunately, doing just that is not in the make up of Rodriguez. He is going to have to constantly think outside the box from having to stay grounded inside that tight space of a box to have any real chance. Thing is, Ward is the absolute best at forcing you to fight his fight, at his pace. With all that being said, I am going to pick Andre Ward to batter Edwin Rodriguez and take it in a 118-110 type of score across the board. I would be far from shocked if Ward ends up knocking Rodriguez down during the fight with a short mean right cross. Cuts may also be an issue for Rodriguez, yep I see this fight going many different ways. The more I think about this fight, the worse it gets for Rodriguez. Ward by Unanimous Decision.
