Andre Ward vs. Edwin Rodriguez

November 16th, live on HBO WCB for the WBA super 168lb title. (6th defense of Ward)

Combining for a 50-0 (30) record, someone's 0 has gotta go!

Will the unflappable fortitude and more layered game of Ward make this another routine title defense, or will E-Rod's equalizing power and improving (but still inconsistent) well-rounded skill base make it closer than we are used to seeing?

Both have recently surprised audiences...

Nobody expected Ward to dominate and stop Dawson (even with everyone knowing full well heading in that he would be weight drained to some degree) quite the way he did. Especially with having not stopped anyone since Pudwill - granted, with a schedule full of sturdy foes...but he never looked close to having anyone in trouble for many years.

On the other hand, nobody expected Rodriguez to blitz Grachev (whose toughness seemed a key attribute elevating his otherwise limited abilities to let him compete with the best) quite the way he did. Especially coming off a very flat and forgettable showing in the Monaco Super Four semifinal against Maderna, seeming to have regressed and lost his strides made in 2012.

They have one common opponent: Darnell Boone. Ward beat him in 2005 by unanimous decision with scores of 59-55, 58-56, and 57-56 - suffering a knockdown in the 4th. Rodriguez beat him in 2009 by unanimous decision over eight with scores of 80-72 and 79-73 x2.

 

According to Boxrec, this is the soonest 5-star match-up involving male boxers. :yep


http://boxrec.com/5star.php

 

He only recently became a boxer-puncher, however. In his early prospect days he was considered a smasher.

In fact, he was looked at very similarly to similarly-nicknamed Donovan George, whose ears he boxed off when they finally met up. :yep

Even as recently as versus Rosinsky, however, the refinement was lacking in his abilities. He built his name on power, and reminded everyone of it versus Grachev.

In fact I will even pose the by no means rhetorical question: might he be the biggest puncher Ward has faced professionally? :think Other candidates include Abraham, Froch, Kessler and Miranda. The next hardest tier of punchers he fought was Bika, Findley, and Boone. After that, almost nobody who could swat a fly. While an inferior overall package, I'm not sure Rodriguez packs less dynamite than Froch or Kessler...nor a blown-up Abraham whose effectiveness and firepower dropped considerably from 160lbs.

 

Mind you, he is nowhere close to as good a finisher as Froch, nor does he possess the form of a Kessler (whose 1-2 in his prime was a thing of beauty, and whose uppercuts and hooks in this renaissance period under Jimmy Montoya are damn near textbook as well in spite of his 1-2 having gotten sloppy) - and he isn't as explosive as either...but purely in terms of heavy-handedness I would say he is comparable to both.

He developed a tendency to slap with his power shots at some point, and lately of course he (until Grachev) was attempting to reinvent himself in a jab-first boxer's mold, but I feel like it wouldn't be all that strange for him to get in something that hurts Ward worse than anyone since Boone. There are "buts" involved with almost every puncher Ward has faced since. Miranda, Abraham, Green and Froch to various degrees all had extreme trouble finding Ward and touching him cleanly. Bika stood inside for a rough scrap where neither even had the space to load up if they wanted to. Dawson looked cowed from very early on and never really threw a truly spiteful left hand...and was drained besides. Kessler was coming off a couple of poor showings and looked immediately flabbergasted by Ward's inside-out variance and before he could make adjustments had sustained bruising and the first of the cuts. Rodriguez being a young, prime, world class, physically strong guy who can box a bit and punch is actually something of a new look for Ward. The closest has probably been Froch and stylistically that became fish in a barrel for Ward. It remains to be seen if Rodriguez is stylistically disadvantaged to that degree, or at all.

 

Compared to what's in store for this weekend, this will seem like a FOTY candidate. :deal