By Jake Donovan

2004 US Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward was treated like royalty for his homecoming appearance this weekend. After his dominating decision win over Edison Miranda on Saturday night in Oakland, Calif., Ward was treated like an undefeated super middleweight contender.

The bout aired live from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, on Showtime’s Shobox series.

The tempo of the fight was set in the opening round. Ward controlled the action with his jab, which went virtually undefended for most of the night. The only drama came when a borderline intentional headbutt left Ward with a cut over his left eye midway through the round. The action was all Ward, while Miranda was missing most of his wild haymakers.

Ward began the second round boxing out of the southpaw stance, not uncommon as he’s been known to flip back and forth over the course of the fight. The hometown favorite boxed smartly throughout the round, taking the fight to Miranda when necessary. Miranda had his moments of success, landing several right hands throughout the round, enough to win his only round of the fight on two of the three scorecards. Ward closed strong, landing a left hook that momentarily rocked the former title challenger.

Round three was all Ward, carrying over momentum from the end of the second. Miranda could never get untracked, catching air with most of his punches, while Ward put on a boxing clinic. The round was punctuated by a Ward straight left from the southpaw stance that drove Miranda backwards just at the bell.

Miranda’s work rate dramatically dropped with each round, allowing Ward to move in and out as he pleaded. Body work and combination punching dominated the fourth, with Miranda resembling a high-profile sparring partner far more than the toughest test of Ward’s career.

Referee Jon Schlore was forced to earn his paycheck in the fifth, a round marred by frequent clinching. Whatever action was offered all came from Ward, landing from the conventional and southpaw stance. An uppercut midway through the round rocked Miranda and energized the crowd, who cheered Ward’s every move from that point to the bell.

Things were slightly more competitive in the sixth, only because Miranda finally elected to let his hands go. Ward found himself on the defensive in the first half of the round before regaining control. The seventh round played out in similar fashion. The will was there for Miranda, but he lacked the skill to sufficiently keep up with the athletically superior Ward.

Most of the eighth round was fought in a phone booth. Ward offered far less lateral movement, electing instead to smother Miranda’s punches and come back with left hooks to the body. He remained in the pocket in the ninth, rocking Miranda with a left uppercut and straight right with about 45 seconds remaining. The crowd offered oohs and ahhs during the sequence and once again toward rounds end when Ward dodged a Miranda left and came back with a straight right and left hook along the ropes.

Both fighters were warned for excessive holding in a 10th round that featured more drama than action. Things were stale until the two tangled feet late in the round, resulting in Ward stumbling to the canvas. Referee Jon Schlore correctly ruled it a slip, though the sequence seemed to energize both fighters, who let their hands go until the bell sounded.

Trainer Virgil Hunter liked what he saw of Ward when fighting out of the southpaw stance, which is exactly how the undefeated super middleweight came out to begin the 11th. Ward was switching between sides in rounds prior, but remained lefty throughout the round, one which was spent with Miranda blindly plodding forward but not throwing much and landing even less.

The vocal hometown crowd of 7,818 was on their feet for the final round, hoping their favorite son could send the arena home happy. They’d ultimately have to settle for a 12-round whitewash, as the knockout never came, but still a night dominated by Ward.

Official scores were thought to be academic, until judge Marty Sammon turned in a surprisingly close card of 116-112. Judges Steve English and Marshall Walker were more on point with identica tallies of 119-109.

All three favored of Ward, who improves to 19-0 (12KO). The win is his second of 2009, both of which lasted the full twelve-round distance, but to where he’s arguably only lost one round between the two.

Miranda falls to 32-4 (29KO) with the loss, staying line with a pattern of winning two fights then losing one, ever since suffering his first defeat almost three years ago.

For Ward, the only way is up. Long criticized for his slow crawl towards title contention, Miranda represented his best opponent to date. That he passed the test with flying colors speaks volumes of his potential. Now all he needs to do is to continue to live up to it. 

UNDERCARD ACTION

Unbeaten lightweight John Molina scored his third win of 2009, stopping faded veteran Frankie Archuleta inside of two rounds in the televised co-feature.

Archuleta fought the much younger Molina on even terms in the first round before Molina opened up in the second. A flurry in the corner had Archuleta in trouble midway through the round. Molina scored with a right hand that permanently changed the course of the fight.

An ensuing volley sent a frustrated Archuleta to the canvas. He shook his head in disgust upon rising; it was his last official action of the fight. Referee David Mendoza issued an eight count, but read Archuleta’s body language to suggest a beaten fighter, instantly waving off the fight.

The official time was 2:06 of round two.

Molina improves to 17-0 (13KO). All three of his bouts in 2009 have ended in knockout, lasting a total of less than seven rounds. Archuleta drops to 25-7-1 (14KO), having now lost two straight and five of his last seven.

2008 US Olympic boxer Shawn Estrada enjoyed another quick night in the office, disposing of journeyman Cory Jones without breaking a sweat. Two knockdowns led to a stoppage just 91 seconds into the fight.

A right hand produced the first knockdown; Jones beat the count, but absorbed a follow-up barrage that ultimately sent him through the ropes, forcing the stoppage.

Estrada improves to 6-0 (6KO). Jones dips below .500 as he falls to 5-6 (1KO)

The show was presented by Goossen-Tutor Promotions.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Please feel free to contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .