Sunday June 20, 2010

Allan Green played the part of the bully in the press conferences leading up to his fight with Andre Ward . Andre Ward was the bully where it mattered … in the ring. While Green talks a good game and would appear to have the tools to compete with the best super middleweights in the world, he was completely outclassed by the undefeated Ward over twelve one-sided rounds in the final round two bout of Showtime s Super Six tournament .

As the fight wore on, Ward unexpectedly fought on the inside – roughing up the taller and, supposedly, heavier handed Green. Once he discovered a style that frustrated Green, he stuck with it. By the later rounds, Green seemed more like a sparring partner that a title contender as he absorbed punishment but never displayed any urgency to try to turn the fight around with one big punch. In the end, Ward retained his WBA super middleweight belt with a literal shutout, with all three judges scoring the fight 120-108.

Showtime introduced a new punch stat in the fight – combos landed – and while any such stats are fairly subjective, it was telling that they showed Ward outlanding Green by a margin of 42 to 6.

With the win, Ward clinches a spot in the Super Six semi-finals. His next bout is against Andre Dirrell . Green, who replaced Jermain Taylor in the tournament, faces Mikkel Kessler next.

One other note, 41-year-old Showtime analyst Antonio Tarver announced he s moving up to heavyweight and warned the Klitschko brothers and David Haye that he’s coming for their title belts. Trading fake punches with Sylvester Stallone while playing a heavyweight in the most recent Rocky movie is one thing, but getting in the ring with one of the Klitschkos? Bad idea.