Super Middleweight

Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler (45-2 34KOs) will be challenging the U.K.’s Brian Magee (36-4-1 25KOs) for the vacant WBA super middleweight championship before the end of the year, at a site and date to be determined according to a report from boxingnews24.com. 

Kessler will be attempting to win his fourth world championship and will also be looking to enact some revenge for fellow countrymen Mads Larsen and Rudy Markussen, both of whom suffered knockout losses at the hands of the WBA interim champion Magee. 

A win over Magee could put Kessler in line for a rematch with super middleweight kingpin Andre Ward for sometime next year. Ward and Kessler previously squared off against each other as part of the Showtime Super-Six Classic in 2009. 

Kessler, who was the favorite going into the tournament lost to Ward by technical decision. The bout was sent to the scorecards in round 11 after the ringside doctor felt Kessler could no longer continue after suffering a cut from an accidental clash of heads earlier in the match. 

After the loss to Ward, Kessler went on to win the WBC super middleweight title from Carl Froch in his very next fight. 

In his most recent outing, Kessler took on the much-faded Allen Green in a light heavyweight matchup. Kessler was knocked down in the first round, but came back to stop Green in the fourth by brutal knockout. 

Ward, who is the current WBA champion, will either be stripped of his title or elevated to “Super” champion so the WBA will once again have two champions in the same division.  

Andre "Son of God" Ward gets the job done when he jumps in the ring. This past Saturday, he once again demonstrated that he is one of the best boxers in the world.

Ward's accomplishments of the past 10 years are quite impressive. He has been the first to stop Chad Dawson, and he did it pretty easily.

Eight years ago, Ward won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and followed with a stellar professional career. He currently is the unified WBC and WBA super middleweight champion. He has also been named the fighter of the year for 2011 by The Ring Magazine.

Ward won the famous “Super Six” tournament and has five successful title defenses. Even though he is still pretty young at 28 years old, Ward had stiff competition so far. His past six opponents combine for a record of 201 wins in 219 fights (win percentage of 92 percent).

Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Chad Dawson have all been outclassed by Ward, even though four of them were current or former champions from a major boxing association.

Is Andre Ward the best super middleweight of all time? We can’t make this assertion at this point of his career, but he is definitely on the right track. Can you believe that he had a 114-5 amateur record and hasn't lost a fight since he was 12 years old?

The only current problem for Ward right now is the lack of opposition left in his division. Lucian Bute could be a future opponent, but the former Canadian champion will want to get his revenge on Froch first.  

And let’s be honest, if Bute reclaims the IBF title, will he really want to put it in jeopardy against a fighter who has been unbeatable for the past 16 years? His managing group will be conscious of this situation and will stay away from this possible dream fight. A clash between the left-hander and Ward is more than unlikely in the short term.

However, if Froch is able to stop Bute a second straight time, could he get a chance for a rematch against the Son of God? We are pretty aware by now that Froch isn’t scared of any challenge, so he would definitely accept a rematch.

Joe Calzaghe could come out of retirement to face him, but it is once again very unlikely.

There is an intriguing contender in Adonis Stevenson from Montreal, Quebec. The past eight wins of the 34-year-old came by way of knockout. His impressive power could bring some hype in a match vs. Ward. Other than a small error in 2010, Stevenson’s path is pretty neat with 18 wins (15 KOs) in 19 fights.

There is a reason why most boxers are currently trying to avoid Adonis "Superman" Stevenson: He hits harder than anyone else in the division. His past two wins against Jesus Gonzales (27-2) and Noe Gonzales Alcoba (28-2) were spectacular with two early knockouts.

The only major issue for the southpaw is his inexperience. He is six years older than Ward, but only has 61 professional rounds of boxing. Could it be a problem in the ring vs. Ward? While Ward would use his speed and talent to control the fight, the Superman could be dangerous in any round with a devastating punch.

The most interesting opponent could be fellow 2004 Olympic teammate Andre Dirrell. While he is fast and talented, his lack of action in the past two years could be a huge problem.

In summary, there aren’t many boxers who could be a problem for the unified champion. Ward could move down in the weight category to face Sergio Martinez, who seems to like the idea, but it remains to be seen.

Ward could easily remain undefeated for the next several years to come. A boxing legend is in the making.

By stopping Chad Dawson at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on Saturday, Andre Ward punctuated a sequence of victories that has seen him largely dominate and dismantle the elite class of the super middleweight division.

Dawson (31-2, 17 KO), of course, is still the current lineal light heavyweight champion and was moving down in weight, a fact that speaks to how thoroughly Ward (26-0, 14 KO) cleaned out his competition during the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Dawson was supposed to be Ward’s toughest test to date, but despite being the bigger man, “Bad Chad” was dropped three times and smartly conceded defeat in the 10th round.

Ward’s game plan and execution against Dawson was the stuff of genius, and the victory should firmly secure him a No. 3 spot in any sensible pound-for-pound list. Having already defeated a murderer’s row of opponents, Ward’s domination of Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Dawson has left him in a precarious position.

While fans and pundits undoubtedly recognize the magnitude of Ward’s achievements, one wonders if his greatest run of victories has already happened. If this is the case, Ward’s achievements sadly did not garner the mainstream attention they deserved while they were unfolding. It is easy to lavish praise on Ward now, but has he been taken for granted?

The concern with Ward is that at this juncture of his career he now lacks the elite, mega-fight-worthy opposition to challenge his sublime skills and put his prime years to proper use.

At 28, it could already be said that Ward has laid the foundation (and then some) for a Hall of Fame career, but, given his youth and consistent improvement, he should be at the stage where he is only fighting opponents that surpass or match the likes of Dawson and Froch.

Herein lies the dilemma: Can anyone at super middleweight still offer those types of legacy-building fights, or will Ward suddenly be, say, 31 before another truly worthy and viable challenger emerges?

While Ward has the skill-set and style to fight at an advanced age, now is the time for him to be matched in bouts akin to the Dawson fight (on paper at least). Considering the excitement surrounding the Super Six, there suddenly seems to be a chasm between Ward and the rest of the super middleweight division.

While someone like Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO) has gained momentum with a clinical 5th round stoppage of previously undefeated Lucian Bute (30-1, 24 KO) to claim the IBF title, a rematch with Ward makes little sense.

In the Super Six final, Ward comprehensively outboxed the determined and iron-chinned Froch in what amounted to a lopsided fight. Were the two to meet again, the result would likely be exactly the same, which is a credit to Ward as opposed to a knock on Froch.

Before losing to Froch, Bute seemed like a viable candidate to fight Ward given that he was undefeated, the then-IBF champion and should have been an easy selection to participate in the Super Six.

However, after being stopped in five rounds in Nottingham, the claims that Bute was a protected champion gained more credence, and he is currently working towards rebuilding his credibility. Should Bute win his comeback fight and somehow impressively defeat Froch in their rematch, he could win the Ward sweepstakes. But that scenario is laced with “ifs.”

Someone like Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27 KO), despite wresting the WBO title from Robert Stieglitz in his most recent fight, simply hasn’t proven he can hang with the true elite at 168 pounds, not to mention the fact that Ward already dismantled him. Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34 KO) is coming off of a sensational knockout over Allan Green, but again, Ward has already outclassed him.

One of the more intriguing options for Ward is his former Olympic teammate and 2004 bronze medalist Andre Dirrell (20-1, 14 KO). This fight was supposed to happen during the Super Six, but Dirrell was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a head injury sustained from an illegal foul during his fight against Arthur Abraham. 

While Dirrell can match Ward’s speed and athleticism—and perhaps surpass him in certain respects—he certainly does not possess Ward’s intangibles, ability to adapt to any style and championship experience.

Furthermore, since the Abraham fight, Dirrell has only scored a second-round knockout of Darryl Cunningham in Dec. 2011. Before a Ward-Dirrell fight could be made, Dirrell would need to increase his activity and shake off some serious ring rust.

Looking at the list of highly ranked super middleweights, names like Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO) and Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KO) are intriguing but lack viability or name-recognition, while someone like Kelly Pavlik (40-2, 34 KO) brings money to the table but would likely offer little resistance come fight night.

Furthermore, British prospects George Groves (15-0, 12 KO) and James DeGale (12-1, 9 KO) are simply too inexperienced, and it seems unlikely that they would be offered up to Ward.

Ward might simply have to press on and bide his time for a true mega-fight. An eventual move to light heavyweight is likely, but even at 175 pounds it is hard to fathom Ward losing. He’s just that good.

Just hours after his one-sided dismantling of light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, Andre Ward's team is already calling out the man they hope will be his next opponent -- undefeated, and retired former super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. 

"If there was one fight I could make for Andre, it would be against [Joe] Calzaghe," Ward's manager James Prince told BoxingScene.com. "I would love to make that fight."

The simmering rivalry between Ward and Calzaghe dates back to the finals of Showtime's Super Six tournament, in which Ward easily defeated current IBF super-middleweight champion Carl Froch by decision.

After the fight Calzaghe was critical of Ward, saying his fighting style would have been easy for him to beat.

"I think the way Ward fights would have suited me to be honest," Calzaghe said after the fight.

"I would have had too much speed and power for him. So, yes, I would've beaten him."

The comments have not sit well with Team Ward, and particularly with trainer Virgil Hunter, who now wants Calzaghe to come out of retirement and backup his claims.

"A couple of months back, Joe Calzaghe made the comment that he would have beaten Andre Ward after Andre defeated Carl Froch in the Super Six," Hunter told BoxingScene.com

"We've given Joe the proper respect and acknowledged his legacy for his accomplishments, but if you are going to be minimizing Andre on where he is as a fighter - to make that comment when you are in retirement and sitting somewhere safely in England - if you are going to make that comment, then as a fighter you should come out of retirement and back that comment up."

Calzaghe held the 168 pound world championships of all sanctioning bodies during his career. He retired with a perfect 46-0 record after defeating a very faded Roy Jones Jr. in 2008.

Andre Ward turned in the greatest performances of his career when he knocked down Chad Dawson three times before making him quit in the 10th round Saturday night. 

Ward made the elite Dawson look rather ordinary from the beginning of the fight. In the third and fourth rounds, Ward floored Dawson with perfectly placed left hooks. 

In the 10th round, Ward was so far ahead on the scorecards he could have coasted, but the Oakland native looked to take Dawson out. Ward landed a fierce combination of punches that forced Dawson to take a knee. When Dawson rose to his feet, he told referee Steve Smoger he didn’t want to continue. (h/t HBO broadcast) 

With this performance, I believe that Ward has passed Manny Pacquiao and should now be considered No. 2 on the mythical pound-for-pound list. 

Both men have beaten great fighters, but the difference is Ward, like the great Floyd Mayweather Jr., has never lost.

In addition to having never lost, Ward has been fighting opponents in their prime, while Manny has been fighting guys who were old (Shane Mosley), on the decline (Antonio Margarito) or tailor-made for him (Ricky Hatton).

Ward, over the last three years, has fought and beat every elite fighter placed in front of him and has done so in remarkable fashion.  

As great as Manny Pacquiao is, he has not looked very impressive in his last couple of fights and is showing signs of slipping. Manny is an exciting, "all-action" fighter, but he is not the complete package in the ring that Ward is. 

The pound-for-pound list is about who is the best fighter—not who is the most popular or the most crowd pleasing, but who has the most skills in the ring.  

Andre Ward’s beating the reigning light heavyweight champion and the body of work he has put together over his career show he belongs at the No. 2 spot.

Super middleweight champion Andre Ward dominated and defeated light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson by technical knockout in the tenth round Saturday night, in Oakland, California.

Ward (26-0 13 KO) knocked Dawson (31-2-1 17 KO) down three times, including the final time in round ten when Dawson signaled he had enough, to stop him with stunning ease. With the victory, Ward retained the WBC and WBA 168 pound titles.

"These kind of fights Larry you have to take risks, you have to, or a it could be a snoozer or you could mess around and lose your title to a guy of that caliber," Ward told Larry Merchant in the ring after the fight.

From the beginning of the fight, it was clear that Ward was the smoother boxer and harder puncher.

He outlanded Dawson in every single round and most by wide margins. According to Compubox, Ward landed 155 punches to only 29 for Dawson (h/t New York Daily News).

It was nothing short of mastery and complete dominance. 

Dawson was cut over the right eye in round two by an accidental headbutt and never seemed to get on track.

After the third knockdown in round ten, Dawson rose to his feet and appeared to tell referee Steve Smoger that he was done. 

Dawson was also down in the third and fourth rounds.

"He was a lot stronger, a lot faster than I thought," Dawson told Larry Merchant in the ring after the fight. "He's an excellent champion. He deserves to be where he's at right now."

Dawson added that he plans to return to light-heavyweight and to defend his title there.

Could Ward be far behind him?

For a fight that was as anticipated as this one, it was shockingly one-sided and established Ward as boxing's newest superstar.

"I love to win Larry. Ya know I've gotten a bad rap early in my career. A lot of people say I didn't have it," Ward told Merchant. "But that's okay because that's what young fighters get. I'm still working. But like I tell everybody finishing guys off is the last piece of the puzzle and we're on our way to doing that."

Ward was non-committal about his future plans in the post-fight interview, but he would not rule out a move to light-heavyweight in the future.

If the upcoming Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson fight wasn’t already laced with intricate levels of intrigue, the recent report that Ward has now been bumped up to a 4:1 favorite in a fight many feel will be contested on level terms has certainly added last minute spice.

With rumours swirling that Edison Miranda knocked Chad Dawson out cold in sparring as speculated and reported by the likes of Steve Kim and Rick Glaser, Ward’s late bump in the odds could be based on conjecture (see the above link to our own Michael Walters’ article for all pertinent information on the Miranda-Dawson knockout hypothesis).

Regardless, despite the skills of both men, it was expected that Dawson (31-1, 17 KO) would be the underdog heading into this fight. While 4:1 odds seems steep, the unwillingness to back Dawson speaks more to how his mercurial performances have inspired more doubt than confidence in his undeniable skill set.

Fans and writers who have followed the respective careers of Ward (25-0, 13 KO) and Dawson understand that the fight will likely be far closer than the betting line suggests.

Of course, much of this depends on how motivated Dawson is for the fight, and the prospect of a fully engaged “Bad Chad” is why this fight has the potential to offer surprising excitement.

For a full breakdown of how Dawson and Ward stack up in essential categories like speed, power and ring generalship, amongst other things, check this piece out. But for now, given that Dawson is a live underdog, it is time to look at three tactical elements he must emphasize in order to upset Ward.

Fight Off the Front Foot

Dawson has a tendency to be passive, and this stasis was painfully evident in his upset loss to Jean Pascal in 2010. In that fight, Dawson allowed Pascal to dictate the tempo, and Dawson was thus consistently beaten to the punch and visibly hurt in Rounds 7 and 8.

Despite mounting a late rally before the fight went to the scorecards after being stopped due to cuts, Dawson simply let Pascal outwork him. Much of this had to do with Dawson passively watching the somewhat erratic Pascal dance in and out of danger while throwing quick combinations as he moved within range of Dawson.

Little purpose was evident when Dawson did stalk forward against Pascal, and if Dawson wants to upset Ward, he needs to avoid either being backed up or falling into aimless pursuit. Ward is a master of negotiating tight spaces on the inside, and he thrives when able to move in with lead hooks, which then allows him to tussle on the inside. In order to avoid this, Dawson must keep Ward off-balance by pushing him back.

If Dawson employs intelligent aggression and presses the action, he can prevent Ward from planting himself and launching those short bursts of combinations that inevitably end up with a sequence of in-fighting. By forcing Ward onto his back foot, Dawson will negate Ward’s already average power and make it more difficult for Ward to find the proper leverage to work his way inside.

Control Range With the Jab

This section follows from the previous one, as much of Dawson’s ability to fight off his front foot will depend on the effectiveness of his jab. Dawson, who holds a five-and-a-half inch reach advantage over Ward (76.5 to 71), as well as a general height advantage, has an ideal physical edge with which to deploy a lethal jab.

It is no secret that Ward is a master of fighting on the inside, and he has shown the ability to rough up seemingly stronger men in Sakio Bika and Allan Green. Furthermore, Ward has been able to showcase his array of skills—in-fighting, combination punching, slick movement and defense—against more talented foes like Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch.

Because of Ward’s adaptable style, Dawson’s jab will be his most effective weapon to dictate the tempo and geography of the fight. By employing a snapping, stiff jab, Dawson can keep Ward at range and prevent him from getting on the inside.

Range is especially crucial, and Dawson must maintain proper distance to make use of his longer reach and maximize his power. Furthermore, Dawson’s jab is also a logical tool to set up his combinations.

Crunching some numbers on Dawson’s jab statistics reveal that the number thrown per round fluctuates, though he can generally be counted on to throw over 20 per round.

For instance, against Adrian Diaconu, of Dawson’s 52 punches thrown per round, 29 were jabs. On the other hand, in the second Glen Johnson fight, Dawson threw 63 punches per round, of which an impressive 42 were jabs.

Much will depend on the pace of the fight, but Dawson should aim to at least throw in the neighborhood of 30 jabs per round if he expects to control the fight’s tempo.

Maintain a High Work Rate

According to an HBO CompuBox breakdown, Dawson has transitioned from a more aggressive combination puncher to, much like Ward, an economical and technical boxer. Naturally, an increase in Dawson’s level of opposition has much to do with this—he can no longer simply steamroll his opposition—but more disturbing might be Dawson’s trend of mirroring his opponent’s work rate, as described in the above-cited article:

That transition [to a more technical boxing style] has also unearthed a potentially fatal flaw: His offense mirrors that of his opponent. When that opponent revved up the offense, as did [Glen] Johnson, Dawson reacted accordingly. He answered Johnson's 69.1-per-round pace with 79 per round and in the rematch he averaged 63 to Johnson's 58.7. Against Diaconu, who threw 49.2, Johnson [sic] threw 51.7 and against Pascal, who averaged 40.2, Dawson threw 40.8.

But in both fights against Hopkins Dawson fell into "B-Hop's" slow-down trap. In fight one, Dawson -- who pledged to force a hard pace on the 46-year-old -- threw just 27.5 per round to Hopkins' 14.5. In the rematch, which he won convincingly, Dawson still threw 35.9 to Hopkins' 33.3.

This tendency could indeed prove costly against the highly accurate and crafty Ward. If Dawson falls into a trap of posturing and mirroring Ward, he is likely to get picked apart and bullied on the inside where a shorter punch range and awkward angles will negate Dawson’s sizable reach advantage.

Dawson needs to be somewhere closer to the 73 punches per round he threw in a 4-round lambasting of Epifanio Mendoza in 2007, though given the puzzle Ward presents, that number seems unlikely.

Still, Dawson must push the pace, and he could be in good shape if he is consistently averaging 10-15 more punches thrown per round than Ward.

A high work-rate could allow Dawson to negate Ward’s inside effectiveness and allow him to score from range. The great unknown in this fight is whether Dawson will step up and commit to being aggressive, but if he does, Dawson stands to gain a tremendous amount.

Andre Ward, the WBC super middleweight champ, is now a 4-to-1 betting favorite over WBC light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson for their showdown this Saturday, according to a report on the site fightnews.com. 

The betting line started with Ward a favorite at 3-to-1 odds, but a late surge in money on Ward has moved the line even further in his favor. 

Could this move in the betting line have anything to do with the rumor that Edison Miranda knocked Chad Dawson out cold in sparring on Aug. 28?  The two have been sparring together in preparation for their upcoming bouts this weekend. While no video evidence has surfaced, one boxing insider says it happened for sure. 

Maxboxing.com’s Steve Kim, who is a respected boxing journalist, sent out the following tweet on Tuesday:

Steve Kim ‏‪@stevemaxboxing

So did Edison Mirando knockout Chad Dawson in sparring or not? These things are like fish tales. You don't know what to believe ‪#boxing

 

Rick “The Raccoon” Glaser a somewhat infamous boxing industry insider responded with this: 

Rick Glaser ‏‪@RickGlaser1

‪@stevemaxboxing It happened, and Dawson was out! Know it as fact, just as easy as tomorrow is Wednesday herein this great country of ours!

 

With the line steadily moving in the favor of the smaller man (Ward), it appears as though the oddsmakers could be taking the rumors seriously. 

I for one would not put my cash down on Ward simply because of a rumor that in my opinion doesn't hold much weight. Actually, I think the smart money is on a draw. It's paying 33-to-1.  

This is a pure boxing fan's fight. When Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) and Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs) meet on September 8 in Oakland, Ca., diehard fans should collectively smile.

Even if you're not partial to either fighter, no one can dispute their skills and their desire to face the best competition.

Dawson is coming down from his perch as the champion at 175 pounds to take on Ward, the 168-pound king. The fight is for Ward's WBA and WBC Super Middleweight crown.

Why are they doing this?

Because both men want to be great and they embrace challenges.

Still, this fight has one issue. Neither fighter has the type of magnetic or over-the-top personality that captivates fans attention, and neither man is an explosive puncher.

Ward hasn't stopped an opponent since 2009, and Dawson hasn't stopped a foe since 2007.

Both guys are sharp verbal communicators. They carry themselves as if a boxing analyst job is a real possibility after their fighting days are done.

Yet some might describe them as boring, as Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix mentioned. 

These two won't be grabbing the news for anything beyond their in-ring exploits, but if it's great boxing you're looking for, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this fight.

Here is the vital information you need in order to catch this Super Middleweight championship bout.

When: September 8, 9:45 EST

Where: Oracle Arena in Oakland, Ca.

TV: HBO

Live Stream: HBO GO (Pay Service)

The Book on Ward

Ward isn't a hard puncher, but he's brilliantly accurate. He throws punches from all angles, has excellent hand speed, and is a tremendous counter-puncher.

He comes forward constantly and has displayed the speed to beat reach advantages in past fights. Though he isn't a knockout fighter, he fights a crowd-pleasing style.

He beat a four-inch reach advantage against Carl Froch to win the Super-Six tournament in December. Ward's speed was the prevailing factor.

Take a look at some action from that fight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNEJkbS8P74

Ward is very unpredictable in his attack. He has a solid chin, but his overall toughness shines through in his professional, but aggressive approach. 

Ward has been in the ring with solid competition, but Dawson creates a difficult matchup because of his size, slickness and experience.

The Book on Dawson

Dawson is extremely long as a super middleweight. He stands 6'1" with a 76.5-inch reach. That represents a 5.5-inch reach advantage for Bad Chad.

No matter how fast you are, that is a significant advantage to overcome.

In addition to Dawson's length he has a solid jab, great footwork and good head and lateral movement. These traits make it very difficult to ever really catch Dawson flush.

In fact, having seen 10-plus Dawson fights, I can remember only a few instances where he was nailed with a power shot. Most notably was this shot from Eric Harding in 2009. It happens at the 8:00 mark of the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS_CdcxagKc

Harding countered Dawson's jab with a hard power-jab and it dropped Chad. It doesn't appear Dawson really saw the shot coming.

He would rise to his feet and win a lopsided unanimous decision. It should also be mentioned he is a far better fighter now than he was then.

Still, Ward will need to employ similar counters to Dawson's jab to be effective. There is one caveat to that concept—Harding was a natural southpaw. Ward is orthodox, though he has shown the ability to switch his stance.

Ward may need to try to employ the southpaw stance to be effective against Dawson's reach.

Dawson has finally emerged from the no-win situation he faced in the two fights against Bernard Hopkins. Winning this fight would do more for his career than any other previous victory.

Prediction

This is one of the toughest predictions I've had to make this year. I'm truly torn between Ward's hand speed and overall punching accuracy vs. Dawson's length and movement.

In the end, I believe Dawson will win a close, and possibly disputed decision (what's new).

The size advantage is a little too significant for me to ignore, and I see Ward struggling to close the distance.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

Subscribe on YouTube

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay

"World Champions Made In America" is the name of the super middleweight championship title fight of Andre Ward defending his WBA and WBC titles against WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson which is taking place this Saturday in the backyard of Ward's Oakland hometown.

Unfortunately, even the name of this fight, "World Champions Made In America," desperately attempts to recapture the interest of middle America for boxing.

If Dawson and Ward both held hands and walked down any large shopping mall in middle of America, most average Americans would not even know who the hell these two dudes are holding hands with one another.

Ward is undefeated and the 2011 Fighter of The Year awarded by the RING magazine.

He has defeated most of the top super middleweight elite in the Showtime Super Six Classic Tournament, including Kessler, Froch and Abraham.

So, ask yourself. Why is Andre Ward not a household name yet?

There maybe several reasons why (outside of the Bay Area of California and real boxing fans) most do not care or do not even know who he is, but all the pre-fight buildup to this Saturday's fight against Chad Dawson would suggest that we are in for a major snoozefest and letdown when these two touch gloves inside the ring.

Style-wise both champions are more technical fighters who rely on their ring generalship and tend to break down and outbox their opponents rather than putting them away or destroying them.

Neither fighter possesses true damaging knockout power, and their KO percentages reflect that.

Chad Dawson's best impressive fight was against a then-undefeated Tomasz Adamek who Dawson outboxed for 12 rounds and even got up off the canvas to win a unanimous decision.

Dawson's win against Adamek became more and more impressive as Tomasz kept going up in weight class and kept beating top heavyweights.

Dawson has pretty much cleaned out the light heavyweight division, defeating many of the older champions on their way out of the sport, making him the lineal light heavyweight champion of the world.

The problem Dawson has always had was being consistent. Much of his inconsistent performances were due to his out-of-the-ring distractions which he has recently resolved by thinning down his entourage to only the most essential trustworthy individuals in his corner.

Ward, on the other hand, has been consistent and his best performance to date was his last fight against Carl Froch where he easily outboxed and even outclassed the WBC champion with a broken hand.

It seemed the speed was just too much for Froch for Ward was beating him to the punch throughout their fight.

The clear advantages on Saturday night will go in Ward's favor. He has the hometown advantage, he is making Dawson come down from 175 lbs to 168 lbs, and if you understand the business, politics of the sport of boxing, and even HBO, you can even argue all of those factors are in Ward's favor as well.

Dawson has his height and reach advantages. Two inches taller than and a reach of six inches longer over Ward as well, but the superior speed and aggression of Ward should prove to be too much for a weight drained Dawson.

If you have seen the face-off video between Ward and Dawson (minus Max Kellerman), you probably saw that for some reason, Ward seemed to be the one doing Kellerman's part in interviewing and conducting their faceoff? 

Ward seemed to be the one in control and even trying to promote the fight and get it hyped, but overall, both fighters were rather respectful of one another and even just plain dull.

Their Kellerman-less faceoff failed miserably to generate any kind of interest in the fight among casual fight fans who might have came across it.

Their faceoff was uninteresting, but their 24/7 episode was even worse.

Probably, the best thing about their 24/7 episode was the fact that Ward's 2011 Trainer of the Year Virgil Hunter got some love and camera time.

Hunter has the character and personality to be on camera and to tell an intriguing story for the fans, but not everyone has those qualities in them. Not everyone should get their own reality show even if it is for one episode to hype a fight.

If you thought the Ward/Dawson faceoff and 24/7 episode was bad, then chances are the fight will be just as uneventful as well.

Again, style-wise, when these two fighters mix it up, it will most likely only be appreciated by the smaller population of hard-core boxing fans who know what is going on and how to properly score rounds.

The lack of bad blood and even interest from either fighter also will most likely present a glorified sparring session in the ring Saturday night.

When you title fights like "World Champions Made In America," you are basically saying, "hey America watch this fight." But, the disappointing brutally honest truth is this fight will most likely not be the one that would win over America and make either of these fighters a household name in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Probably the most exciting thing about this fight is the fact that actor/comedian/host/Mariah Carey 401K celebrity Nick Cannon will be debuting as a ring announcer for the fight.

I am actually a fan of Nick Cannon, believe it or not. Cannon has come a long way and worked very hard in his career and obtained such impressive success at such a young age.

We often see Cannon sitting ringside at the big fights with wife Mariah Carey, and I always get inspired by seeing young successful people doing big things.

I think he will do a great job as the ring announcer Saturday night, and it may even be the highlight of that fight.

If Cannon can bring in a new demographic audience to my favorite sport, especially during a fight that will most likely fall flat, then he deserves to have his hand raised Saturday night.

Look fight fans, I love boxing. I want it back, and as hot as it once was in the great USA, like it was in the '90s and '80s, but until we have some real world-champion superstars made in America as the fight name suggests, that won't happen.

I could be wrong about Saturday; I actually wish I am wrong, but given both of these fighters' past history and fight styles, it looks like I won't be.

Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will be defending his belts against undefeated contender Manuel Charr, and also, WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco will be putting it all on the line against John Molina all also on HBO Saturday.

Vitali is always entertaining to watch as he often dominates his much smaller opponents in a one-sided, beat-down fashion.

DeMarco vs. Molina will most likely be the fight of the night and possibly a fight of the year candidate, and the real reason for tuning into HBO World Championship Boxing Saturday night.

Follow on Twitter: @KingJ323

Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/KingJ323