By Ian S Palmer
Former undefeated world Super Middleweight Champion and contender for best pound-for-pound boxer, Andre Ward of America will be facing Colombia’s Alexander Brand at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California this Saturday, August 6th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on HBO while fans in the UK can catch the action on BoxNation. This is a tune up bout for Ward before he takes on undisputed light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on November 19th in Las Vegas. Ward last fought in March when he beat Sullivan Barrera by 12-round unanimous decision in a light-heavyweight bout. Brand’s last action took place in December when he won a 10-round split decision over Medzhid Bektemirov.
The 32-year-old Ward will climb into the ring in his hometown of Oakland with a perfect record of 29-0 with 15 Kos. His bout against Barrera was his first in the 175 lb. division after giving up his super middleweight titles. His outing against Brand will more or less be used to get further used to the heavier weight class. Ward definitely needs the work since he’s been relatively inactive over the past few years with just three fights in the last three-and-a-half years. Ward is 6-feet tall and has a reach of 71 inches. He’s fought 206 rounds since turning pro in 2004. Ward isn’t known as a big knockout puncher though with his knockout ratio being 52 per cent.
The American also has a wealth of amateur experience as he was a gold-medal winner at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He’s an excellent technical boxer, but to be honest, most of his contests can get quite boring because he’s usually a bit too good for his opponent. This isn’t to underestimate or take anything away from Ward though as he has all of the skills required to be a Grade A world champion. He’s beaten some top-notch opponents over the years such as Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler, Edison Miranda and Sakio Bika. He has solid, but not overwhelming power and is basically the complete package when it comes to being an excellent overall boxer.
The 39-year-old Brand has an impressive record of 25-1 and has 19 Kos to his name. He was prepared to meet Ward last November, but the fight was postponed when Ward was injured during training camp. The only loss on his pro record was an eight-round split decision to current super middleweight titleholder Badou Jack in 2012. Since then Brand has gone on an eight-bout winning streak. Brand is just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 71.5 inches. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 136 rounds since then. He’s got pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 73 per cent. Other than Badou Jack, it’s hard to find a recognizable name n his list of opponents.
Prediction…
Brand will need to utilize all of Ward’s skills and land power shots to trouble him, but he can’t leave himself open for Ward’s counterpunches. Ward will utilize his mobility and boxing skills to rack up points round by round and will only go after for a stoppage if Brand is obviously hurt. Brand is smaller than Ward and this looks like it’s his first outing as a light heavyweight. Look for Ward to use his superior skills to coast to victory with a late stoppage being a possibility as well.
