By: William Holmes
“There’s nothing left to say. I’m ready to go”
-Andre Ward immediately following weigh-ins
As Andre Ward and Carl Froch stepped onto the scales last night at the Circus Max Theater at Caesar in Atlantic City, fervent Carl Froch supporters broke out in song to cheer their fighter on. Various media, national and international, were on hand to see the two warriors before they battle at the weigh ins, and served as an appropriate prelude to tonight’s momentous showdown.
The crowd was sparse in the early bouts, but by the time British fighter Kell Brook walked out most of the fans with tickets were here. The British crowd was very vocal and made themselves known. Some Froch fans started serenading to Froch before the fight, but were shouted down by Ward fans chanting USA, USA. The atmosphere in Atlantic City was electric, and the undercard results and round by round results for the main event are as follows.
Undercard Quick Results:
Bowie Tupou (22-1) defeated Donnell Holmes (33-2-2) by unanimous decision with scores of 95-94, 96-93, and 95-94 in the Heavyweight division.
Edison Miranda (35-6) defeated Kariz Kariuki (24-10-2) by TKO at 2:15 of round 5 in the Light Heavyweight division.
Cornelius White (18-1) defeated Yordanis Despaigne (9-2) by unanimous decision with scores of 60-53, 59-55, 59-55 in the Light Heavyweight division.
Kell Brook (26-0) defeated Luis Galarza (18-3) by TKO at 1:38 of round 5 in the welterweight division.
John Lennox (8-1) defeated Jeremiah Witherspoon (2-2) by KO at 0:50 of round 3 of the Heavyweight division.
Tupou knocked Donnell Holmes down early in the fight and was able to escape with a victory. Holmes had him back peddling in the last round and landed some solid shots late, but Tupou did enough work in the earlier rounds to earn the decision. Miranda looked impressive in his bout, and landed some solid left hands before he got the stoppage victory. Kell Brook dominated Luis Galarza from the beginning, and landed pin point shots throughout the bout. Galarza was cut early and was clearly outclassed by Brook until the referee stopped it in round five. Lennox rushed out from the opening bell and landed some heavy shots, before Witherspoon was viciously knocked out in the third round.
Main Event Round by Round Results:
Andre Ward (24-0) vs. Carl Froch (28-1) for the WBC and WBA Super Middleweight Championship
Round 1:
Ward and Froch come out to the center of the ring and don’t touch gloves. Froch throws out a few jabs but misses. Ward is trapped near a corner and they exchange jabs then briefly clinch. Froch lands some short shots but Ward connects with a left hook as he gets out. Ward throws a jab to the body of Froch, then ducks under a straight right hand and connects with another jab to the body. Ward lands a stiff jab. Froch misses with two jabs. Froch with a two punch combination but Ward easily slips them. Froch with a jab to the body. Froch lands a solid jab. Ward with a jab and a hook to the body of Froch before moving out of the way of a Froch right hook. Ward is pressing forward, and lands two consecutive jabs. Froch misses with three jabs of his own. Ward lands a right hook near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Ward.
Round 2:
Ward lands a short left hook, and is coming forward this round again. Ward throws a double jab then clinches. A left hook by Froch is blocked. Fighters exchange some inside shots while clinched by the ropes, and Ward lands a left hook that sends Froch backwards. Ward lands two quick jabs and a strong left hook to the temple of Froch. Ward misses with a left hook, but then connects with a follow up left hook. Ward with another double jab upstairs, and then a jab to the body. Froch releases a three punch combination, and connects with a jab. Ward lands a lead left hook. Ward is starting to look more relaxed, and lands two more quick jabs before tying up. Ward lands another check left hook to the temple of Froch. Ward lands another jab straight down the pike. Ward lands another double jab. Ward lands a right hook to the body, and Froch answers with two body blows of his own. Ward lands a left hook that stuns Froch. Ward lands another hard left hook near the end of round 2. 10-9 round for Ward.
Round 3:
Fighters throw jabs at the same time, clinch, and Froch unleashes a four punch combination as they separate. Ward lands a jab to the body of Froch, and misses with a left hook. Froch connects with a double jab. Ward is staying strong with his jab and lands another one to the body of Froch. Ward connects with two jabs, and Froch answers with some hooks of his own. Froch lands three hooks to the body of Ward. Ward connects with a straight right hand, and then two hard left hooks upstairs. Froch misses with a double jab. Froch lands a straight right hand to the body of Ward. Fighters exchange in close range, and Ward gets the better of Froch. Ward connects with a hook to the body and then the head. Fighters exchange hooks upstairs near the center of the ring. Better round for Froch, but still 10-9 Ward.
Round 4:
Ward lands a solid two punch combination in the center of the ring. Froch connects with some hooks upstairs but Ward answers with harder straighter punches. Froch lands a short right uppercut. Ward lands another stiff jab upstairs. Froch lands a jab of his own, and Ward answers with a jab to the body. Ward lands a hard two punch combination and finishes with a right cross. Ward and Froch exchange hard right hands. Ward connects with two quick two punch combinations. Ward and Froch are by the ropes, and Froch connects with some short body shots. Ward is applying the pressure to Froch and has him by the ropes and lands some short uppercuts and hooks. They exchange in the middle of the ring and the crowd gets to it’s feet. Ward ducks under two Froch hooks. Ward tags Froch with a quick combination upstairs as the round ends. 10-9 round for Ward.
Round 5:
Ward lands a quick jab to the body of Froch, and Froch misses with his own jabs. Ward lands another hard left hook upstairs on Froch, steps back, and lands a straight right and a straight left. Fighters clinch by the ropes, and Ward and Froch exchange uppercuts to the body. Froch misses with a jab. Ward ducks under two Froch hooks. Froch comes forward with a lead left hook and misses, but connects with a jab as Ward backs out. A double jab by Ward is blocked by Froch. Froch lands a left uppercut on Ward. Froch has Ward backing up and connects with a hook, but Ward answers with a hook of his own. Ward lands a digging body shot on Froch. Froch lands a straight right to the body of Ward. Froch lands a hard jab, and Froch lanswers with a left hook upstairs. Froch lands a hard jab on Ward. Froch connects with a combination and a left hook near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Froch.
Round 6:
Ward comes right out and misses with a straight right hand. Ward lands a short left hook and a short right hook. Ward lands two stiff jabs, and then a solid left hook. Froch tags Ward with a right hook. Ward lands another hard jab that snaps the neck of Froch. Froch is coming forward on Ward, and they clinch by the corner and exchange short shots. Ward lands another stiff left hook. Froch lands a right cross to the body of Ward, but eats a left hook in the process. Ward misses with a wild left hook. Froch connects with a hard right hand, and Ward answers with a harder left hook by the ropes. Froch is trying to fight off the ropes and Ward smothers him, and they exchange short shots again. Froch lands a hard uppercut on Ward. Close round, Ward seemed to land the harder shots. 10-9 Ward.
Round 7:
Froch and Ward clinch, and Froch lands some inside shots. Ward lands a hard two punch combination, and Froch answers with his own hard three punch combination. The left hand for Ward finds it’s home again, and Ward follows it with an overhand right. Ward lands a straight right hand. Froch is moving backwards, and Ward comes forward with a loud lead left hook. Ward connects with a double jab. Ward lands two stiff jabs on Froch. Ward with another left hook. Ward comes forward with a double jab and finishes it with a left hook to the temple of Froch. Fighters clinch and exchange short shots again. Ward bullies Froch to the ropes and they exchange short uppercuts. 10-9 round for Ward.
Round 8:
Ward lands another hard jab that sends sweat flying outside the ring. Froch misses with his jab. Ward lands a very hard jab. Froch tries to corner Ward but Ward is able to maneuver out of trouble. Ward lands another stiff jab. Froch misses with a backhand and gets warned by the referee. Ward lands a hard overhand right. Ward catches Froch with another check hook. Froch lands a hard body shot on Ward by the corner, but then sticks his head out of the ring. Fighters go back to the center and exchange body shots, and Ward finishes his cominbation with a left hook. Ward lands a hard right hook to the body of Froch. Ward lands a loud overhand right on Froch by the center of the ring. Froch comes forward with four punches and lands a nice right hook at the end of it. Ward smothers Froch by the ropes again. Ward lands another hard overhand right, and the fighters clinch by the ropes. Froch lands a right hand way after the bell rings. The referee is taking a point away from Carl Froch for the blatantly late punch. 10-8 round for Ward.
Round 9:
Froch has a combination blocked near the center of the ring. Ward smothers Froch by the ropes, releases, and lands a straight right hand. Ward clinches onto Froch by the ropes again. Ward lands a hard short left hook on Froch while clinching. Froch misses with his hooks by the corner. Froch looks frustrated, and gets backed into a corner by Ward. Ward lands some hard body shots in the corner. Froch throws some looping hooks and lands some shots that might be near the back of the head. They exchange combinations by the ropes, neither fighter lands cleanly. Ward lands a hard left uppercut on Froch. Froch connects with a stiff jab. Froch lands another jab. Ward ducks under a straight right hand from Froch. 10-9 round for Froch.
Round 10:
Froch throws out two jabs but misses, and they clinch by the ropes again. Froch lands a hard right hand, and Ward answers with a straight of his own. Froch barely misses with a left hook. Ward connects with a hard jab, and then presses Froch against the ropes. They exchange close shots while clinched again. Lots of clinching is going on in this round. Ward muscles Froch by the corner, but Froch gets the better of Ward when they exchange. Ward connects with a short left hook upstairs. Ward connects with a lead left hand. Ward ducks under wild Froch punches by the corner. Ward lands a hard left hook near the end of the round,. 10-9 round for Ward.
Round 11:
Froch lands an early jab, and Ward answers with a hard two punch combination. Froch misses wildly, and Ward closes the distance with some punches to the body. Ward connects with another stiff jab to the body of Froch. They clinch by the ropes again, with no punches exchanged. They separate and Froch looks to be the more aggressive fighter as he stalks Ward. Froch lands a questionable punch that may have been behind Ward’s head. Ward lands a stiff right hand in the center of the ring. Froch lands some decent body shots near the center of the ring. Ward smothers Froch by the corner again. Froch lands a jab to the eye of Ward. Ward looks to be swelling up a little bit. Froch has Ward on the defensive by the ropes, but misses a lot of wild shots. Another close round, but 10-9 for Froch.
Round 12:
Last round, Froch probably needs a knockout to win. Froch and Ward get tied up and exchange by the ropes, but Froch gets the better of Ward when they exchange. Froch comes forward with two jabs but misses. Ward complains of punches by the head. Ward may have spit out his mouthpiece as the referee allows him to pit it back in. Ward lands a check hook on Froch as he comes forward, but Froch shrugs it off. They clinch by the ropes again, and when they separate Ward lands a left hook upstairs. Ward lands a straight right hand and a straight left. Ward connects with a straight right hand. Ward lands a stiff straight left hand. Ward ducks under Froch’s punches easily. Ward lands a hard left hook on Froch. Froch tries to corner Ward but Ward is able to get out of the way. Froch lands a stiff jab, but eats a left hook afterwards. 10-9 round for Ward.
The final and official results are 115-113, 115-113, 118-110 for Andre Ward.
Andre Ward was able to fight off a very tough and game Carl Froch and earn the victory. A 115-113 score seemed questionable, but Ward left little doubt as to who the best fighter in the Super Middleweight division is.
