OAKLAND, CA - Two-Time World Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) and number one rated IBF light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) will collide at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Andre Ward has amassed a +14.1 CompuBox plus/minus rating, #4 among all active champ. caliber fighters (he landed 38.2% of his total punches). Ward landed 7.2 jabs per round- #7 and well above wgt. class avg.,while opponents landed just 6.2 power shots per round- (wgt. class avg.: 11.4)and just 8.9 total punches per round (wgt. class avg.: 16.4). Huge step up in class for Barrera who landed 27.9 of 79.3 punches per round vs. limited opposition. Sullivan Barrera also landed 47.3 of his power punches.
Later tonight former two time super middleweight champion Andre Ward will make his light heavyweight debut against unbeaten Cuban Sullivan Barrera. The bout will air live from the Oracle Arena on HBO with Jo Jo Diaz-Jayson Velez serving as the televised co-feature.
Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Guillermo Rigondeaux believes countryman, unbeaten heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs), will have a very tough task later tonight when he faces former super middleweight king Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs).
Unbeaten heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) is confident of upsetting one of the best fighters in the world, Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs), when they face each other later tonight.
by Cliff Rold - Win and we all have something to look forward to. The first is the task for former super middleweight champion Andre Ward: win. The latter is the prize for fans looking for the sort of showdown that 2016 so far lacks. Recently some very good fights were added to the slate, but the best of them just sounds very good.
Number one rated IBF light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) is prepared to take the fight to top-rated pound-for-pound fighter Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday night.
Moving on from a lengthy stay as the World super middleweight king, Ward came in at a healthy 174.8 lbs. for his first bout as a full-fledged light heavyweight. Barrera - already an established contender in the division - was lighter at 174.4 lbs., boasting a top-heavy sculpted physique.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- It's seems a foregone conclusion that Andre Ward will get his long-anticipated shot at unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev later this year.