In perhaps his best and most dominating performance as a pro, Andre “S.O.G. Ward completely dismantled the naturally bigger WBC Light Heavyweight Champion “Bad” Chad Dawson en route to a stunning 10th-round TKO and successful defense of his WBA & WBC Super Middleweight titles at Oracle Arena. We know we’ve been giving you a lot of Ward-Dawson post-fight coverage, but we have another recap here, including more post-fight quotes from the fighters, complete undercard results, and some additional fight pictures. Take a look.
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On the HBO® World Championship Boxing telecast Ward (26-0, 14 KOs), as many expected, utilized his superior quickness to his advantage right from the opening bell and his sharp, crisp punches opened a cut over Dawson’s right eye in the second round. In Round 3, Ward’s power took over and he sent the New Haven, CT native to the canvas with a left hook to the head. Dawson recovered, but in the fourth round was sent to the deck again in identical fashion.
Ward registered a third knockdown in the 10th round when he delivered a solid left hook behind Dawson’s ear. After issuing a standing 8-count, referee Steve Smoger called a halt to the fight. The time was 2:45 of the 10th round.
Prior to the knockout, all three judges had Ward with a decided advantage, with only 1 round given to Dawson (31-2, 17 KOs) by two of the judges. Marshall Walker scored the fight 90-89 and both Julie Lederman and David Mendoza saw it 89-80 in favor of the hometown champion.
“I was carrying the weight of being the champion into the ring tonight, and Dawson was a dangerous opponent,” Ward acknowledged. “I took the risk of fighting the bigger man. He had the height and reach advantage, but he sacrificed the weight. I was surprised that he wasn’t as fast as he looked like he was on the tapes I watched. I could see everything coming from the start of the fight. Virgil kept telling me to turn it up. That’s what I did.
“I love to win and the better the competition, the more I rise to the occasion. It might have looked like it was easy, but Chad Dawson was a monster, added Ward, who made the fourth defense of his WBA title and first as WBC champion. “Guys have been asking me what it’s going to take to finish the puzzle. Finishing guys off is the last piece of the puzzle and we are on our way to doing that.”
Classy in defeat, Dawson said: “I did everything I had to do to prepare for this fight. He (Ward) was a lot faster than I thought he was. He is strong too. I don’t take anything away from him because he is definitely one of the best. I just felt like I couldn’t get anything off tonight. I didn’t have a problem with the weight; the weight was fine. I am going to go back to 175 and decide what I am going to do next. Andre Ward is a hell of a champion.”
Results from Oakland, CA
WBA/WBC SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KOs, Oakland, CA), W TKO 10 over Chad Dawson (31-2, 17 KOs, New Haven, CT).
Ward retains WBA & WBC Super Middleweight Titles.
WBC LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
Antonio DeMarco (28-2-1, 21 KOs, Los Mochis, MX) W KO1 over John Molina, Jr. (24-2, 19 KOs, Covina, CA); DeMarco retains his WBC Lightweight Title.
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Franklin “Yah Yah” Lawrence (18-2-2, 13 KOs, Indianapolis, IN) W TKO7 (3:00) over Homero Fonseca (9-6-3, 2 KOs, Peirsaw, TX)
Malik Scott (35-0, 12 KOs, Philadelphia, CA) W TKO8 over Bowie Tupou (22-2, 16 KOs, Los Angeles, CA)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Tony Hirsch (13-5-2, 6 KOs, Oakland, CA) W UDEC over Roberto Yong (5-6-1, Sacramento, CA)
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS
Ricardo Williams (20-3, 10 KOs, Cincinnati, OH) W MDEC 6 over Anthony Lenk (13-2, 7 KOs, Los Angeles, CA)
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Randy Guerrero (1-0, Gilroy, CA) MAJ DRAW 4 vs. Juan Urbina (0-1, Santa Ana, CA)
The card entitled, “WARD-DAWSON WORLD CHAMPIONS-MADE IN AMERICA”, before an announced paid attendance of 8,500 appreciative fans, was presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Promotions, Antonio Leonard Productions and SOG Promotions.
