10 – W pts 12 Edwin Rodriguez
Ward faced off against Edwin Rodriguez in November 2013. After a messy four rounds that culminated in referee Jack Reiss being hit by a stray left hand, both fighters were warned that they would be disqualified should the sloppiness continue. From there on Ward took control, out-boxing and outclassing an opponent who had stepped in to the ring three pounds over the agreed weight. ‘SOG’ took the bout by a wide 118-106, 117-107, 116-108 margin.
9 – W pts 12 Henry Buchanan
In Ward’s eighteenth professional bout, he convincingly beat Henry Buchanan for the vacant NABF super middleweight title. Buchanan, who boasted a similar record (17-1), was tipped to give Ward a competitive night’s work. But Ward made him look like a novice. He continuously tagged Buchanan throughout the twelve rounds, making it look like a sparring match at times. A landslide 120-108 on all three judges’ scorecards gave Ward the win.
8 – W pts 12 Allan Green
‘SOG’ won a landslide unanimous decision against Allan Green in 2010. It marked the first defence of his WBA title, and the win saw him progress in the ‘Super Six’ tournament. He was physically too much for the Oklahoma man, and had him in trouble on numerous occasions throughout the bout – most notably in the seventh, when a flurry of shots seemed to trouble Green. Ward prevailed 120-108 on all three judges scorecards.
7 – W rsf 9 Paul Smith
After an eighteen month hiatus from the sport, Ward marked his return to the ring by going up against tough Merseyside man Paul Smith. Smith had just come off the back of two losses to WBO super-middleweight kingpin Arthur Abraham. He stepped into the ring four pounds over the agreed weight, and Ward punished him for doing so, battering the Liverpudlian for nine one-sided rounds, before the towel was thrown in.
6 – W pts 12 Arthur Abraham
Arthur Abraham had lost two of his last three coming into his 2011 showdown with Ward, but had the better start to their bout, out-working and landing more than the Oakland native over the first three rounds. However, Ward showed a cool head, proved that he was able to amend defensive faults, and switched from orthodox to southpaw in a bid to confuse Abraham. For the nine frames that followed, Ward picked off the German with ease, firing sharp jabs and hurtful hooks until the judges declared him the winner via a 120-108, 118-110 and 118-111 decision.
5 W rsf 10 Chad Dawson
After beating Bernard Hopkins via majority decision, Chad Dawson entered the ring five months later, and 5lbs lighter, confident that he could hand Andre Ward his first professional loss. He was well out of his depth however, as Ward dropped the southpaw in rounds three, four and finally ten after which the Connecticut man admitted to referee Steve Smoger that he’d had enough.
4 – W pts 12 Sakio Bika
The first round of the super-middleweight Super Six tournament, saw Ward meet the highly capable Sakio Bika, in his hometown of Oakland. Bika had been disqualified in an outing four months prior for hitting Jean-Paul Mendy when he was down. And this contest demonstrated similar brutality as the duo were happy to exchange dirty tactics. It was Ward though, who capitalised on Bika’s slowing work-rate in the latter rounds, and picked up a well-earned unanimous decision in what was probably the toughest fight of his career.
3 – W TD 11 Mikkel Kessler
Ward contested his first world title bout against the Viking Warrior in 2009. At the time, Kessler boasted an impressive 42-1-0 record. His only loss had come to Joe Calzaghe. Ward demonstrated too much for the Dane, who although looked to be the aggressor, came off second best in the opening rounds. Ward’s speed and accuracy were the telling difference. As the fight reached its climax, Kessler’s only option was to go for a knockout. Swinging wildly, Ward capitalised on his opponent’s inaccuracy. The fight was brought to a halt in the eleventh round, due to a cut on Kessler’s eyelid which came from an accidental clash of heads. The judge’s scorecards read 97-93 and 98-92 twice.
2 – w pts Magomed Aripgadjiev
Ward triumphed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, winning the light-heavyweight gold medal against Magomed Aripgadjiev. He beat Celmente Russo, Evgeny Makarenko and Utkirbek Haydorov along the way, to become the first American – since David Reid in 1996 – to win an Olympic gold medal.
1 – W pts 12 Carl Froch
In 2011, Ward met ‘The Cobra’ Carl Froch, in the final of the super-middleweight ‘Super Six’ tournament in Atlantic City. Ward’s WBA and Froch’s WBC titles were on the line. It was a technical masterclass from Ward, who proved too quick for Froch, landing jabs and hooks at will. The unanimous decision cemented Ward in the eyes of many as one of the pound-for-pound best.
