Just hours ago, WBA super middleweight champion of the world Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) won a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over former world middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (32-3, 26 KOs). Contested in Carson, CA, at the Home Depot Center in front of a good crowd, the official scorecards were read 120-108, 118-111 and 118-110, all in favor of the Oakland, CA, native and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist.
Although the fight turned out to be a wide-margin victory for Andre Ward, it did not begin that way as Arthur Abraham, who normally begins his matches slow, came out much more aggressive than normal.
Working his jab behind a high, tight defense, Abraham pressed the action over the course of the first three rounds, and a strong argument could be made that he won each of them. In addition to the jab, the Armenian threw and landed several right hands, exhibiting power, strength and a will to win in the early going.
But in the fourth round, the champion completely turned the tide by working his own jab to the head and body, controlling distance and letting his hands go offensively. He threw each punch with a sense of purpose and as a result, Arthur Abraham quickly retreated into a defensive shell.
The pattern begun in the fourth round largely continued throughout the remainder of the fight, although Abraham did occasionally open up to Ward’s body and land sparingly with the left hook. If one wanted to be merciful, an argument could have been made that Arthur Abraham won the final round due to his aggressiveness and the landing of a few left hooks and a hard right hand.
Neither man was shaken nor seriously hurt during the match.
Andre Ward will now move on to the finals of the SHOWTIME Super Six World Boxing Classic, a tournament of 168-pound fighters, and take on the winner of next month’s bout between Englishman Carl Froch and Jamaican Glen Johnson.
As for Arthur Abraham, he said in post-fight comments that he is determined to remain at the 168-pound super middleweight division. As a result, the German-based fighter will likely return to Europe and try to regroup against some less than elite level boxers and try working his way back into title contention.
After long being criticized for fighting inferior competition, Andre Ward has emphatically lost that stigma, having now defeated Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, Edison Miranda, Allan Green and Sakio Bika over the last two years.
In fact, Ward is now included among many pound-for-pound best lists, and should he continue winning against stiff competition in the future, he may just graduate from largely being recognized as America’s best active boxer to the world’s best in short order.
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