Finally the Man is getting the exposure and recognition he deserves. BAY AREA STAND UP!!!!
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman -- Andre Ward is always referred to as the lone gold medal winner for the U.S. boxing team in the 2004 Olympic Games. He will need to win a world championship before he can make that accomplishment a footnote to his name.
Ward took a step closer to making that happen when he demolished Jerson Ravelo, a 2000 Olympian with the Dominican boxing team, at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal on Friday. Ward scored a devastating eighth round TKO against Ravelo, dropping Ravelo to his knees and then face forward to the canvas with a short left hand followed by a quick right. Ravelo made it up by the count of eight, but he was unsteady on his feet.
As Ward charged in to continue his assault, a white towel flew in from Ravelo's corner. Referee Steve Smoger had his back turned to the towel coming into the ring, but he reacted just as quickly to step in and protect Ravelo (18-3, 12 KOs) from further injury, stopping the fight at 2:37 of Round 8 to give Ward his sixth straight knockout victory since moving up to the super middleweight division last year.
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Andre Ward
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Andre Ward had reason to smile after defeating Jerson Ravelo in eight rounds.
"My objective was accomplished," Ward said of his knockout over Ravelo. "It was the old cliché. Don't rush it, don't be too anxious. I was telling myself the whole week this was going to be the best performance of my career."
Ward (16-0, 11 KOs) ended the fight just the way he wanted.
"It was a little left hook to blind him and a right hand to put him down," he said. "Like Bernard Hopkins does it."
With the victory, Ward clinched the NABO title, which he considers his first world title. It is a minor title at best, but it does give Ward position in the top 10 of the WBO, where Joe Calzaghe remains the reigning king.
"We're not looking for a world title fight yet," said Dan Goossen, Ward's promoter. "We've been patient and I see no need to rush anything just yet. I could see him being ready for a title shot in a couple more fights. But this was the type of fight that he needed, because he was a little hesitant at first, but once he settled down, he controlled the fight."
Ward rushed out of the corner like he was launched from a rocket to begin Round 1. It seemed to catch Ravelo off guard.
Ravelo, who was a member of the 2000 Dominican Olympic boxing team, never seemed to get in a rhythm against the faster Ward. And even though he had a height and reach advantage, Ravelo never pressed it. Instead, he kept getting popped by Ward's pop shots.
Ward briefly switched to a southpaw stance in the fifth round, hoping to catch Ravelo off guard because he knew that Ravelo had been stopped previously by a lefty. But after Ward found it easy to land the right hand from the orthodox stance, he didn't do it anymore.
By the seventh round, Ravelo, who has broken his right hand five times in his career and had it surgically repaired three times, looked exhausted. His mouth was open and he was gasping for air. It seemed only a matter of time before Ward would catch up to him.
Ward was anxious to get back home to Oakland to be with his wife and newborn daughter, who was born on June 12. Ward said he got to spend a day with her before he had to fly to the Cayman Islands for the fight with Ravelo.
"All I wanted to do was get back home and lay my belt at the feet of my wife and daughter," he said.
If he continues to fight the way he did against Ravelo last night, Ward, 24, will soon be laying some bigger and better hardware at the feet of his two queens.
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman -- Andre Ward is always referred to as the lone gold medal winner for the U.S. boxing team in the 2004 Olympic Games. He will need to win a world championship before he can make that accomplishment a footnote to his name.
Ward took a step closer to making that happen when he demolished Jerson Ravelo, a 2000 Olympian with the Dominican boxing team, at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal on Friday. Ward scored a devastating eighth round TKO against Ravelo, dropping Ravelo to his knees and then face forward to the canvas with a short left hand followed by a quick right. Ravelo made it up by the count of eight, but he was unsteady on his feet.
As Ward charged in to continue his assault, a white towel flew in from Ravelo's corner. Referee Steve Smoger had his back turned to the towel coming into the ring, but he reacted just as quickly to step in and protect Ravelo (18-3, 12 KOs) from further injury, stopping the fight at 2:37 of Round 8 to give Ward his sixth straight knockout victory since moving up to the super middleweight division last year.
[+] Enlarge
Andre Ward
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Andre Ward had reason to smile after defeating Jerson Ravelo in eight rounds.
"My objective was accomplished," Ward said of his knockout over Ravelo. "It was the old cliché. Don't rush it, don't be too anxious. I was telling myself the whole week this was going to be the best performance of my career."
Ward (16-0, 11 KOs) ended the fight just the way he wanted.
"It was a little left hook to blind him and a right hand to put him down," he said. "Like Bernard Hopkins does it."
With the victory, Ward clinched the NABO title, which he considers his first world title. It is a minor title at best, but it does give Ward position in the top 10 of the WBO, where Joe Calzaghe remains the reigning king.
"We're not looking for a world title fight yet," said Dan Goossen, Ward's promoter. "We've been patient and I see no need to rush anything just yet. I could see him being ready for a title shot in a couple more fights. But this was the type of fight that he needed, because he was a little hesitant at first, but once he settled down, he controlled the fight."
Ward rushed out of the corner like he was launched from a rocket to begin Round 1. It seemed to catch Ravelo off guard.
Ravelo, who was a member of the 2000 Dominican Olympic boxing team, never seemed to get in a rhythm against the faster Ward. And even though he had a height and reach advantage, Ravelo never pressed it. Instead, he kept getting popped by Ward's pop shots.
Ward briefly switched to a southpaw stance in the fifth round, hoping to catch Ravelo off guard because he knew that Ravelo had been stopped previously by a lefty. But after Ward found it easy to land the right hand from the orthodox stance, he didn't do it anymore.
By the seventh round, Ravelo, who has broken his right hand five times in his career and had it surgically repaired three times, looked exhausted. His mouth was open and he was gasping for air. It seemed only a matter of time before Ward would catch up to him.
Ward was anxious to get back home to Oakland to be with his wife and newborn daughter, who was born on June 12. Ward said he got to spend a day with her before he had to fly to the Cayman Islands for the fight with Ravelo.
"All I wanted to do was get back home and lay my belt at the feet of my wife and daughter," he said.
If he continues to fight the way he did against Ravelo last night, Ward, 24, will soon be laying some bigger and better hardware at the feet of his two queens.
