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CARSON — Few assets in boxing can gain fame and grow cash quite like a devastating hook. On a warm Saturday evening at the outdoor Home Depot Center, Andre Ward landed one that looked like a million dollars.
And someday might be worth considerably more.
Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist from Oakland, continued his climb up the professional mountain with his most authoritative showing yet — planting a left hook flush on the mug of Francisco Diaz and leaving the highly regarded Kansan willing but hopelessly unable to continue.
Diaz was momentarily staggered upon impact, then dropped to the canvas like a sack of potatoes from a kitchen counter. He rose at the count of eight, still unstable, legs wobbling and body slack, compelling referee Raul Caiz to stop the bout at 2:59 of the third round of a bout scheduled for eight.
The decision met with approval from the crowd of 8,029 — some of whom couldn't resist their own unsanctioned fisticuffs — and it was the right call. Diaz (16-2, eight knockouts) may have been game but was in no condition to continue.
Though Ward (13-0, eight KOs) landed a short and telling right a nanosecond before the left, the hook was the most devastating punch of the super middleweight's three-yearcareer.
"It was like hitting a baseball on the sweet spot," Ward said afterward. "It landed soft, did a lot of damage. I didn't even feel anything."
Diaz, by contrast, felt it all. He did not mount much of a protest of the stoppage.
Though this was not Ward's most impressive boxing exhibition — displeased with his defense, he graded himself at C-plus/B-minus — his slick previous showings had done little to advance his respect. Despite his status as the only United States boxer to win the gold, he was gaining a reputation as a fine boxer without much of a hammer.
Without the kind of stunner that can bring a crowd to its feet.
This, then, was the kind of performance Ward needed. It was crisp, with a lot of velocity, and it was on the undercard of a World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight — Paul Williams dethroned Antonio Margarito in a 12-round unanimous decision — televised by HBO.
Moreover, this is the kind of knockout that does not go unnoticed in boxing circles.
"The punch was already there," said Virgil Hunter, Ward's godfather and trainer. "It's been there from the beginning; Andre was a fighter before he learned how to box.
"But with the vastness of his arsenal, he kind of got away from his lethal left hook. He had to be reminded that just because his arsenal is so vast, not to forget he has TNT in the hook."
The reminder came last Saturday night, as Ward watched one of his closest boxing buddies perform on Showtime. San Leandro flyweight Nonito Donaire took the International Boxing Federation title from previously undefeated Vic Darchinyan.
Donaire won not only by knockout but also with an over-the-top left hook.
"Andre saw that and immediately went for a workout on the heavy bag," Hunter said.
"When I saw Nito do what he did, I was inspired," Ward said. "I was proud of him. Because it's close to home, you know? It lit a flame underneath me. I just wanted to be able to put on half the performance he did."
Wearing black trunks with gold trim, Ward opened by playing it smart. He had seen tape of Diaz, but the boxer before him on this night was not the same man. The 2-year-old tape showed a careful and calculating Diaz, and here he was, fighting fearlessly and, to be sure, aggressively. Wearing red, with white trim, he took the action to Ward and occasionally landed above Andre's defense.
''You're going to get hit in boxing," Ward conceded, "but I got hit with some shots I didn't want to get hit with."
Although Diaz was the stalker, Ward was busier, jabbing, counterpunching, throwing flurries. He was more accurate, too, dodging Diaz's roundhouse blows and getting inside to make contact.
"Right away, we saw the jab working," Hunter said. "So we wanted to start working with everything else, too."
Nothing, though, hinted at the exquisite left that ended the fight.
"It was just a perfect shot," said Ward, who was ahead on the cards of all three judges. "Something you can't plan for. I went beyond myself."
Promoter Dan Goossen said before the bout that he wants to move Ward into 10-round fights before the end of the year. If he needed proof that Ward is ready to take on more serious challenges, he now has fresh videotape.
"When you step up in competition, that's when you find out what you've got and where you're going," Hunter said. "As the competition gets better, he'll get better.
"But we want to keep him who he is. We're not trying to make him Mike Tyson or George Foreman. Just keep him who he really is."
If Ward continues to refine his boxing skills while bombing quality opponents to the canvas, it will be enough. He may not become a knockout specialist, but he'll be in greater demand. His name will be placed higher on the marquee.
After which the cash and, maybe, the belts will follow.
damn i missed the highlights of his fight on the hbo broadcast..
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