Review by AllTheBestFights.com: 2016-03-26, some good exchanges between Andre Ward and Sullivan Barrera but it is not enough to get three stars: it gets two.Both undefeated, the former Wba and Wbc super-Mw champion Andre Ward entered this fight with a perfect record of 28-0-0 (15 knockouts) and he is ranked as the No.3 light heavyweight in the world (currently the #1 in this division is Sergey Kovalev) while his opponent, Sullivan Barrera, has an official boxing record of 17-0-0 (12 knockouts) and he entered as the No.23 in the same weight class. Ward fought just once last year, beating Paul Smith (=Ward vs Smith), while Barrera fought three times defeating Jeff Lacy (=Barrera vs Lacy), Hakim Zoulikha and Karo Murat (=Barrera vs Murat). SOG Ward vs Barrera, IBF light heavyweight title eliminator, is the main event of the evening. Watch the video and rate this fight!
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Date: 2016-03-26
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California, USA
Division: light heavyweight (175 lbs, 79.4 kg)
Ward’s previous fight: Andre Ward vs Paul Smith
Barrera’s previous fight: Sullivan Barrera vs Karo Murat
Ward’s next fight: Andre Ward vs Alexander Brand
Barrera’s next fight: Vyacheslav Shabranskyy vs Sullivan Barrera
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Video: (Free embeddable video hosted on Rutube.ru and not uploaded by AllTheBestFights, to report it please visit this link where the video is hosted)
Official highlights
Ward’s a fabulous technician. Too fast and slick for Sergei? That’s about the only question left to be answered in his extraordinary career.
Still, his dry style leaves me cold.
Well against Kovalev the tension would be there because of Kovy’s punching power. Not sure our national chicken Stevenson would accept a fight against him. Stevenson is really becoming a huge joke especially considering his gangsta, I’m-better-than-anyone attitude and not fighting.
This tension could be annihilated by Ward’s defensive skills… just like Mayweather muted Alvarez’s offense.
Kovalev has a way of shutting down defensive fighter by using odd angles constantly with sustained pressure heavy punching just like vs Bhop. Even tho the age..
True that. It’s a fight I would love to see though! I think he possesses a very good jab but he’s more of a flat footed fighter. Against a guy like Ward who has very fast legs, I think the latter is better at creating angles. The best of both these guys is yet to be seen in my opinion.
It is a very exciting matchup, isn’t it? I agree: legs carry the day for Ward, but he must make no mistakes or Kov begins the digestive process and ends it with a burp!
Kamrul, I insist with you to watch Nicolino Locche vs. T. Fuji (I can provide you the link to do so). Fuji was a very hard puncher too, at that time the world champion, who strongly believed he can beat anybody because his power. Nicolino was just an excellent technician with no power at all. Please see the result that may be annoying for your believes.
I would love to see that, too.
Arjay here you have the link for the Locche’s fight. enjoyed as i do every time I watch it.
https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=C211US1056D20140603&p=niclonino+locche+vs%2Ct+fuji+1968+video
And thank you to be so kind. Of course Kovalev isn’t Fuji but Ward is a close resemblance of Locche
Thank you, Tango! I am going to watch it at the earliest opportunity. :-)
Arjay you are quite welcome enjoy the skillful show
I would love to see either fight, Matt, but agree that Adonis-no-wantis!
If Kov catches Andre enough, we could see Andre revert from his preferred in and out to a close, mugging style he also does well. It would then be a war of attrition in which I’d favor the Russian, and, frankly, be cheering for him.
Boring
Waited 5 years for another exhibition.. Kovalev pls shut this snoozer up
…His last fight was 9 months ago, but nice try.
Hey dummy 9 months is 5 yrs to me in boxing.. Interms of watching him fight after long layoffs, its like watching paint dry..
9 months is 5 yrs in boxing? Loll I guess ward has like 50 yrs of experience then
Come bk and comment after looking up the word sarcasm young boy
No, 9 months equates to approximately… 9 months in boxing to anybody with common sense.
Look up the word (term) illiterate fat black boy also good luck in kissing andre wards black bottom
Not only are you retarded, but your a racist too. That’s a deadly combination
“Hometown-only” SOB will never be in an exciting fight.
Ward is the real deal .Barrera is no easy fight for no one.
The keep saying Kovalev kovalev to make the casuals thing that Ward is afraid. When GGG ducked him big time. I would love to see Ward against both GGG and Kovalev, and make everyone eat their words.
Like Mayweather said, they want ward to loose. And they don’t want GGG to get beat.
Nice fight with a great exhibition of speed, skills and excellent punching precision against a rival with a very good record. In spite of not having fighting for long Ward easily dominated the whole fight demonstrating that he is a very elusive target with his master moves all over the ring. It would be very nice and quite interesting to watch him fighting against Kovalev , skills vs. power.
Ward is probably as good as Mayweather was technically and defensively. And just like Floyd, people will hate him for fighting in this very cautious style. It’s a good thing he moved up in weightclass, ’cause he will eventually have much more opposition than he would have in the SMW division.
Master moves all over the ring! Calm down starting to sound like a comment exhibition..
Kamrul, Sorry if you don’t like it but it was a real exhibition of good skills that nowadays I’m missing so much from current fighting and boxers. Very few are capable to do this and Ward is really good at it. I recommend you to see the fight that I die for. Nicolino Locche vs T. Fuji ) from 1968 (very old but still one of my favorites). These are the skills I’m really missing now since boxing is also an art of self defense no just street fight.
I know LocChe was a notoriously feather fisted guy he had one of the worst KO ratios for a Argentine.. Bit like Sven ottke
Kamrul, Good so you know him. Here you have the link to watch the fight for your enjoyment. Please go ahead.
https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=C211US1056D20140603&p=niclonino+locche+vs%2Ct+fuji+1968+video
Cheers for the link
Kamrul, You are very welcome anytime. Please provide your comments about the fight and the article i attached.
Thank you again.
Well said, Tango. The elusive, intelligent Ward did not look like a man who’s wasted prime years (even though that is what he has done). He has carried power up to the weight too. A P4P standout.
It will take extraordinary skill to beat him. Perhaps not for very much longer, though, as he depends on escape paths that are going to be harder to find in the near future as his legs begin to go. Given his reliance on speed, I think something of a Roy Jones Jr. decline — rapid, immediate — will hit Andre.
Thank you Arjay and agree with you that time and his injuries are working bad in his case.
Is most of the hatred within these post race based?
Ward did exactly what he set out to do. Win.
Unfortunately he is American and does not press. So be it.