By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
His challenger, Allan Green, bore the alternate nickname, "Ghost Dog," but it was WBA super middleweight (168 pounds) champion Andre Ward who set out to prove there was more bite in his own bark than there was in that of his opponent.
Making the first defense of the crown he won by 11th-round technical decision over current WBC king Mikkel Kessler (43-2-2, 32 KOs) in November, Ward simply outclassed Green and beat him literally from one side of the ring to the other throughout the fight.
Judges Glenn Feldman, Marty Sammon and Alfredo Polanco all had it for Ward, 120-108, meaning that he won every round.
FanHouse had it for Ward, 120-106, giving him two 10-8 rounds.
The 26-year-old Ward rose to 22-0 with 13 knockouts while the 30-year-old Green dropped to 29-2 with 20 KOs as part of group stage No. 2 of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic before Ward's hometown fans at The Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
Ward out-landed Green, 267-to-148 in total punches, including 214-to-131 in power punches, 53-17, in jabs, and, 43-6, in combinations.
In victory, Ward locked up a position in the early 2011 semifinals of the tournament, even as his next opponent in the round-robin prior to the semis is slated to be his switch-hitting, 26-year-old former Olympic teammate and bronze medalist, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich, on Sept. 25.
"It will be difficult. I've been putting it off saying that we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But we're here, so we'll have to deal with it and do what we've got to do," Ward said of Dirrell, whom he considers to be a personal friend. "I'm going to take a rest and then we'll go back to the drawing board. I don't like giving away too much of what I'm going to do. It was a long training camp, I just want to rest and regroup, and then we'll come back and figure out how we're going to get through the next round."
Ward-Green was originally scheduled for April 17, and then on April 24, before Ward suffered a knee injury that forced their bout's postponement yet again.
At the time of the last postponement, however, an angry Green openly questioned the legitimacy of Ward's injury, saying, "I hope it's valid," as well as, "I honestly don't think he will ever get in the ring with me," and, "I don't think this is a fight Andre Ward and his people ever wanted."
"I feel like Kobe Bryant did the other night, I don't know how we got it done," said Ward. "We just worked hard, we prepared for Green, and he's a hard puncher. We couldn't tell him that we thought that before the fight, but he's a hard puncher. He's very skilled, and I'm happy to come away with the victory.
"His demeanor coming in just motivated me because I don't pick fights and I don't mess with anybody. But when I feel like I'm backed into a corner, I want to defend myself."
But it was Green who was constantly fighting in retreat from the opening bell, taking right crosses, uppercuts and overhand lefts and rights -- all from behind Ward's jabs and lead left hands.
"Last week of training, that wasn't the game plan. We planned on going inside against him, but not as much as we did. But after the second round, he obliged me, and so I said, 'Man, okay,'" said Ward.
"I said, if he wants to fight inside, let's fight inside, and I thought that he did a good job. He hung in there longer than I thought that he would. I did expect a little tougher fight, but every fight is tough. I don't care what it looks like. This guy is to be respected, and you've got to be mentally alert. That takes a lot of energy out of you, but we were just well-prepared, and I take my hat off to him, and I hope that he does well in the second round of the Super Six."
Ending was a six-bout winning streak that included four knockouts for Green, who was in his first fight of the tournament, having replaced former middleweight (160 pounds) champion Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) in January. Taylor pulled out following a 12th-round knockout loss to Germany's Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) in October.
Green's presence in the championship bout marks the first time since Tommy Morrison in 1993 that a fighter from Oklahoma has been involved in a world championship bout.
Green was coming off of October's unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten southpaw Tarvis Simms (25-1-1, 11 KOs).
Green had not lost since March of 2007, when he was beaten by unanimous decision over 10 rounds by Edison Miranda, whom Green floored in the eighth round before himself hitting the canvas twice in the 10th.
"You know what? Andre Ward fought a helluva a fight," said Green, who must next face Kessler at a site and on a date to be determined. "I don't want to harp on what he did too much, but the three training camps that I've done really sat me, and I had a hard way in training camp.
"I feel a little worn out. I came down to 166, which is a little lower than I expected, so by the time I got into the ring, I felt dead. You've got to understand that I've had three training camps since December. So that kind of really, really, really made me feel weak."
"You can ask my trainer. I had to stop running a few weeks ago because I felt so weak. I wasn't feeling right and I knew coming into this fight that I wasn't feeling my best," said Green. "Andre Ward showed me a lot of things, and a lot of experience. There were a lot of things that I couldn't deal with or react to."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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