A clash between WBA Super World super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0) and former two-time world title challenger Paul Smith (35-5) is reportedly close to being given the green light for June 20th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
It is currently unknown whether Ward’s WBA world title will be on the line. However, Andre Ward’s BoxRec page says that the fight will be a title defense. Earlier this year, BoxRec had the April 11th Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson Premier Boxing Champions non-title fight as a 10-round bout when it, in fact, was a 12-round bout, so it’s necessary that the boxing community waits for the official word.
Ward had not made an appearance in the ring since November 2013 when he defeated Edwin Rodriguez via unanimous decision.
Ward, 28, was training for a Jan 2013 title defense against former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik when he injured his shoulder in a sparring session.
The fight was in the process of being rescheduled, but Ward opted for surgery when his condition was not improving. Then, Ward was involved in a highly publicized dispute between him and late promoter Dan Goossen. Ward opted to sit out for the majority of 2013 and all of 2014 in an attempt to break a contract that had him signed until 2016.
Although Ward hasn’t been in the ring for over 17 months, I don’t expect a fight between him and Smith to go the distance. Smith, 32, recently lost back to-back fights against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham. While the first fight appeared controversial to some; Smith was beaten soundly in both fights and is at the breaking point of his career.
Paul Smith has proven to be a fast starter and moves decently on the outside to get away from unnecessary shots on the ropes, but the English fighter doesn’t use his 72′ inch reach to his advantage – he doesn’t jab enough – and he’s been quite sloppy.
Smith was knocked out by George Groves in November 2011 and proceeded to win his next four fights against unknown fighters, including Jamie Ambler, who was 10-52-2 coming into their fight. Somehow this qualified Smith for a world title shot against Abraham, who isn’t quite in the same class as Andre Ward.
Ward is going to be using the outside of the ring, so Smith is going to have to press the action. That’s what Ward loves – he loves guys who come right to him – and walk into his traps. Ward’s jab is precise and sharp, his left and right hooks are on target, and he has superior head movement. If Smith had problems finding a much slower Abraham, I’m afraid this fight is going to be a mismatch. Ward by seventh round TKO is how I see this one playing out. After this exchange, Paul Smith should really consider hanging up the gloves.
