This Saturday Andre Ward will be squaring off against Arthur Abraham in one of the two semifinals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. The fight will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California at 7pm pacific. The winner of this fight will square off with the winner of Carl Froch and Glen Johnson who face off June 4.
While the tournament has been a bit inconsistent due to injuries and scheduling issues, it has allowed Oakland-based Andre Ward to take a big step toward becoming the next American boxing star. Ward opened the tournament against one of the favorites in Mikkel Kessler. In what was a fairly stunning result, Ward thoroughly dominated Kessler en route to quickly becoming a co-favorite the rest of the way.
Ward takes great pride in his Oakland roots and has fought his first two Super Six fights at Oracle Arena in the Oakland Coliseum complex.
Boxing used to be incredibly popular in the East Bay but had quieted down without a legitimate star to support. Ward is potentially developing into that star and will likely be fighting frequently in Oakland in the future. It remains to be seen what kind of gate he’ll draw at the Arena, but it shows how much he values his Oakland roots.
We’ll be providing plenty of coverage leading up to Saturday’s fight. Over at SB Nation’s boxing blog, Bad Left Hook, they’re providing a full day of thorough coverage about Andre Ward, who truly is a rising star in boxing. We’ll check back with them throughout the week.