This Saturday, on the
26th March, Andre ‘S.O.G.’ Ward will take on ‘El Mas Talentoso’,
Sullivan Barrera in his hometown city of Oakland, California at the Oracle Centre.
This will be Andre Ward’s first test at light-heavyweight as he attempts to become
a two-weight world champion and it will give the boxing world a chance to see
whether he can adapt to the 175 lb limit at the elite level.
Olympic gold medallist,
Andre Ward, has had a quiet three years in the sport having only fought twice
since 2013. However the former lineal super-middleweight champion is looking to
reach the summit of the sport again but this time in the light-heavyweight division.
This division is a
whole different animal to what Ward has previously fought at. Past opponents
such as Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham would be unable to mix it
with the light-heavyweight opponents that Ward is likely to face such as Sergey
Kovalev, Adonis Stevenson and Eleider Alvarez and therefore it is vital that
Ward is able to adjust.
The 31 year old’s main
weapons, such as his ability to pot-shot, fight on the inside and control the
range in fights could be nullified by the bigger, stronger opponents that Ward
is going to face.
These are all issues
that Ward is going to have to deal with come March 26th against an
opponent that is certainly going to test him. Sullivan Barrera, like most Cubans, has an impressive
amateur pedigree having won gold at the world championships back in 2000 and, like most Cubans, is
a seriously dangerous opponent for someone who has been as inactive as Ward has
been.
He stopped his last
opponent Karo Murat, who took Bernard Hopkins the distance, along with the
other five past opponents he has faced so he does have the power at light
heavyweight which is something Ward will have to deal with.
The 17-0 fighter is
ranked no.1 by the IBF, which is why Ward has chosen him and he is certainly no
‘warm up’ fight which is what many other fighters could have and would have done if they were in Ward's position.
It is crucial that Ward does not take Barrera lightly and 'take his eye off the ball' with the
potential Kovalev fight supposedly being set for November this year. Barrera is
a natural light-heavyweight who will ask many questions of Ward and will definitely
take him the distance however Ward’s ring IQ will mean that he will adjust to
the naturally bigger fighter relatively well.
Prediction:
Ward on points
Tom Eckett
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