Ward dominates and stops Smith

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Olympic Gold Medalist and WBA super middleweight world champion Andre Ward dominated Paul Smith on Saturday and earned a 9th-round TKO after Smith’s trainer threw in the towel. Fighting at the Oracle Arena in his hometown of Oakland after a 19-month layoff and fighting at light heavyweight for the first time, Ward looked sharp and strong throughout the fight. Ward (28-0, 15KOs) and Smith (35-6, 20 KOs) started slowly, throwing tentative jabs in the first round. Ward was content to throw punches with both hands and throw them from all angles as Smith took a defense-oriented approach. While Smith blocked a lot of punches as the fight progressed, he took his share to the head and body, and he was cut above his left eye by the eighth round. Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher said after the fight that his fighter was taking too much punishment and blood was pouring into his eye. Smith, who said Ward’s last combination might have broken his nose, called the amount of blood was “unbearable.â€

Junior-featherweights Antonio “Carita†Nieves (12-0-1, 6 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio, and Stephon Young (13-0-2, 5 KOs) of St. Louis, Mo., fought to an eight-round draw. Scores were 77-75 for Nieves, 78-74 for Young and 76-76. Nieves consistently pressed the action and appeared to out-work Young, who had moments of effectiveness when he stepped it up.Young, though, fought the eighth and last round like he needed it and Nieves fought it like he didn’t. Had Nieves won the final round, he would have won a split decision.

Junior-welterweight Wang Zhimin (10-1, 1 KO) blew away Jose Luis Guzman (6-11-1, 3 KOs) of New York City with a first-round TKO. Zhimin, from Ning Bo, China, attacked with serious intent from the opening bell, dug a left to the body and dropped Guzman in the first minute, dropped him again seconds later with another left to the body and finished it with a left uppercut at 2:23 of the first round in a fight that was scheduled for four.

Cruiserweight Meng “Cold Blood†Fanlong (1-0) from Chi Feng, Inner Mongolia, overwhelmed Albert “Romeo†Avina from Stockton, Calif., and earned a second-round TK. Fanlong, who showed off some quick hands and crisp combinations in the first round, opened the second round by unloading with a barrage of lefts and rights to the body and head. Referee Lou Moret stopped the four-round fight at 31 seconds of the second round.

Super-middleweight Aaron Coley (10-1-1, 6 KOs) ground out a unanimous decision over Yosmani Abreu (5-6-2, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas. All three judges had it 60-54, though Abreu landed his share of punches and was more competitive than the scores indicated. Coley, a southpaw from Hayward, California – just a few miles from Oakland – worked effectively off his jab and did damage while working inside. “That’s what I’m trying work on,†the 24-year-old said. “The top fighters can box and they can be effective inside, not just box or hold, so that’s my approach.â€

Featherweight Daniel Franco (11-0-3, 7KOs) dominated Jonathan Alcantara (7-14-2, 1 KO), of Los Angeles. Scores were 80-71, 80-71 and 80-72. Franco, from Riverside, Calif., was sharp and focused, both in being aggressive and in responding as Alcantara came forward. Alcantara took lots of big shots in the third round, but he pressed forward in the fourth, landing some of his own as the pace slowed over the last half of the eight-round bout. Franco teed off in head-hunting mode during the last round, but he couldn’t finish it before the final bell.

In the first fight on the undercard of the Andre Ward vs. Paul Smith main event, super-middleweight Luis Arias (11-0, 5 KOs) stopped Tony Brinson (4-3-3), of Albany, NY. Arias, from Milwaukee, Wisc., landed lefts and rights to Brison’s body as he pressed the action, scoring second and third-round knockdowns with left hooks to the body before referee Ed Collantes stopped it 2:01 of the third of a scheduled six.

 

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/ward-dominates-and-stops-smith-2-295427