Photo by Tom Hogan/HoganPhotos
Don’t call it a comeback.
After a long hiatus, Andre “SOG” Ward returns to the ring this Saturday for a much-anticipated 12-round light heavyweight fight. UK fighter Paul Smith will make his journey to Oakland to face Ward on his own turf. Now, Smith isn’t the fighter we’ve been waiting for Ward to face, but Ward is doing his return to the ring right.
At one point Ward was considered the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world (and still is, in my opinion). He hasn’t stepped foot in the ring in a year and a half, and he needs this fight to remind everyone who the Son of God is, even if it’s by making an example out of Smith.
Ward is the favorite going into this fight and it is not difficult to imagine why. Besides being undefeated and having faced some of the toughest competitors out there (for fans who don’t know, YouTube Ward’s fights in the Super Six tournament), he’s simply one of the most talented fighters in the sport.
Smith has a mountain to climb, to say the least. He’s coming off two back-to-back losses to Arthur Abraham. A fighter whom, by the way, Ward destroyed in the aforementioned tournament.
Ward needs to this fight to look good, but can he destroy Smith spectacularly? Meanwhile, Smith wants to capitalize off Ward’s ring rust, but does he have what it takes? Let’s break down all sides of the fighters to find out.
