Andre Ward: record, next fight and profile →
Unbeaten middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales (15-10, 10 KOs) of Sacramento, Calif., faces Haitian Elie Augustama (6-4, 3 KOs) in the co-feature for this weekend’s episode of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights at the Sodoba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif. BoxingScene.com caught up with Gonzales, his promoter Dan Goossen, and Andre Ward to get their takes on the clash:
OAKLAND, CALIF. - Two young, exciting, classy, established world champions, both from the United States, both in their primes and both widely recognized as the best in their weight class, will clash when undefeated Andre "SOG'' Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) defends his WBA, WBC and RING super middleweight championships against once-beaten WBC and RING light heavyweight titleholder "Bad" Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., in the main event of "Ward vs. Dawson - World Champions - Made In America'' on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
By Ryan Maquiñana - This week in Northern California boxing was supposed to begin with a Tuesday press conference at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. The principals were homegrown super middleweight champ Andre Ward and light heavyweight king Chad Dawson, who will descend to 168 pounds for a Sept. 8 HBO-televised main event. However, Dawson (31-1-0-2 NC, 17 KOs) was unable to attend due to a family illness, causing the presser with Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) to be postponed until a later date. Despite his absence, “Bad Chad” was still accessible for comment earlier in the week to start the wheels turning for a card titled “World Champions: Made in America.” “That’s what boxing should be,” Dawson told BoxingScene.com/CSNBayArea.com about his upcoming contest. “In the Ward-Dawson fight, you got two of the best guys, two world champions in their divisions fighting each other. This right here should be the first step to bring boxing back to where it should be.”
Gary Shaw was as disgusted as anyone when Michael Buffer made that stunning announcement late Saturday night in Las Vegas. Timothy Bradley’s former promoter believes boxing’s judging problem has reached epidemic proportions in the aftermath of Manny Pacquiao’s dubious loss. If it isn’t addressed, specifically by affording promoters more input in the assignment of judges, Shaw suspects the issue will continue to taint the sport’s reputation.
Unified super middleweight champion Andre Ward is headed back to his hometown for a superfight against light heavyweight king Chad Dawson at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Sept. 8. According to Ward, his 168-pound WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine titles would be on the line in a bout that will be televised on HBO. The fighter and his promoter, Dan Goossen, were on hand in Las Vegas to announce the fight on Saturday and spoke to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Here are their thoughts:
MGM Grand, Las Vegas - WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward and WBC light heavyweight king Chad Dawson came together at the MGM Grand to officially announce their showdown for September 8th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. HBO will televise. Dawson is dropping down to 168-pounds to challenge Ward for his title. Photos by Stacey Verbeek.
Super middleweight king Andre Ward returned to the Comcast SportsNet Bay Area studios Thursday afternoon to touch on a variety of subjects, the first being the location of his upcoming Sept. 8 fight with light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson.
Honorees Vitali Klitschko, Andre Ward, and Bernard Hopkins will be in attendance at the 87th annual Boxing Writers Association of America's awards dinner on June 6, 2012 at the Copacabana in New York City. That is a pretty impressive lineup by any measure, but the room will be filled with many other stars, both past and present. Confirming their attendance at the event are former world lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz, former middleweight king Vito Antuofermo, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Breland, 2008 United States Olympian and unbeaten pro Sadam Ali, former junior lightweight champion Tracy Harris Patterson, lightweight contender Hank Lundy, and unbeaten featherweight Patrick Hyland.
Andre Ward has won an Olympic Gold medal, professional world titles, and the Showtime Super Six Super middleweight tournament. For the unbeaten Ward the accomplishments keep growing. His latest milestone will come at the Copacabana in New York City this June 6, when he receives the 2011 Sugar Ray Robinson "Fighter of the Year" award from the Boxing Writers Association of America.
BoxingScene.com spoke to Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler, who sat ringside for Carl Froch’s return to knockout form against Lucian Bute at a rocking and raucous Nottingham Arena on Staurday night. The three-time super middleweight world champion and current WBC Silver light-heavyweight world titlist, who picked up the WBC’s latest “world” title belt by knocking out America’s Allan Green in four rounds last Saturday night, has left the door open for a return to 168lbs if he can secure a showdown with Froch, who now holds the IBF belt after stopping Bute in the fifth, or his preferred target Andre Ward, the universally recognised world champion at the weight.