Andre Ward Returns in a Dominating Win

“S.O.G” Defeats Edwin Rodriguez in Ontario

On Saturday night, Oakland’s Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) answered all questions with his fists during his return to the ring after a 14-month layoff. There were the inevitable questions about ring rust, after-effects of his shoulder surgery and his place among the current and elite champions.

Squaring off against challenger Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KOs) in a 12-round battle held at the Citizens Business Bank Arena (CBBA) in Ontario, CA, this clash was for the WBA Super World Super Middleweight title (which only Ward could win as Rodriguez came in overweight). Ward owned the title from 2009-2012 and was looking to defend once again. Rodriguez, out of Worcester, MA, came into the war ranked #1 WBC, #3 WBA, IBF and WBO. Billed as “The Return,” this HBO broadcast promised the comeback of Northern Cal’s “Son of God.” Promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, in association with S.O.G. Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.

This Inland Empire arena came alive with the main event action sparking the fans in the building. Among the star-studded crowd of champs, actors and athletes were boxing superstars “Iron” Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard taking in the action ringside.

And in the stadium, it was definitely a partisan crowd with Ward’s fan base heard loud and clear throughout the bout. The audience was pumped and after a full undercard, I was also ready for this anticipated main event to begin. The CBBA is known for hosting concerts and is also the home of the Ontario Reign minor hockey team (LA Kings affiliate), but on this night it was Oaktown’s Andre Ward who reigned supreme in defeating Rodriguez, who had previously beaten Denis Grachev, Jason Escalera, Will Rosinsky Aaron Pryor Jr. and Buddy McGirt Jr. and more en route to taking on the biggest name in his career.

Ward, 29, has beaten Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and others during his Super Six reign and has not lost a fight since his amateur days as a youth. The 28-year-old “La Bomba” Rodriguez hoped to somehow change the tide when the bell rang for Ward-Rodriguez. Edwin immediately came out bull rushing toward Andre, hoping to catch him early. His game plan didn’t pan out in the opening round, so Rodriguez (trained by Ronnie Shields) switched to Plan B, which was clinching and making it a brawl. With wild exchanges, Ward’s boxing IQ, speed and ring generalship outlasted and outpointed his opponent’s wild winging aggression.

The crowd loved the action, roaring as the last seconds ended each round. Ward connected with big left hooks and shots upstairs while Rodriguez tried to give as good as he got, never giving in or backing down from the fire fight.

Things got unruly in the fourth frame. In a crazy scuffle between the two pugs, referee Jack Reiss got caught in the action, literally. While the momentum of their clash kept rising, the fight was getting out of control. Trying to break apart the pair, the punching continued with Reiss almost taking a hit. Earning his “third man in the ring” status, the official promptly deducted two points from each fighter for unsportsmanlike conduct, making it a 8-7 (Ward) for the round after Reiss deducted the points from each fighter.

At the conclusion of round four, Rodriguez stared down Ward, attempting to get in his head. The decibel level in the arena also rose as the rounds progressed.

The fans in the stands alternated between “S.O.G.” and “Andre! Andre! Andre!” chants while some of the more vocal attendees taunted Rodriguez promising an “Oakland Beatdown!”

With his jab and straight rights landing on his target, the faster Ward proceeded to dominate this match, peppering his opponent with big right hands and left hooks. But the Dominican slugger tried valiantly to land meaningful punches of his own, trading punches and motioning to “Bring It!” in the later rounds. Holding and hitting was the game plan for Rodriguez while Ward landed the more frequent, harder and accurate punches. It may have been an ugly fight but the crowd was fired up seeing all the wild action. Rodriguez promises to never be in a boring fight, even while getting cut in the final round he was still winging shots.

But at the end of 12, he was outclassed by the Northern California favorite.

With the Ward fans and the Bay area celebrating, Edwin Rodriguez and Team “Bomb Squad” suffered their first loss when the official scores of 118-106 (Max De Luca), 117-107 (Jerry Cantu) and 116-108 (Steve Morrow) were announced. A convincing, dominating unanimous decision victory for “S.O.G.”

Andre Ward, trained by the well-regarded Virgil Hunter, keeps his win streak alive while answering any critics about how he’d be in his comeback fight especially after his dismantling of Chad Dawson in Ward’s last fight before tangling with Rodriguez.

So with this comeback win, after the injury and surgery, what’s next for the “S.O.G.” boxer?

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Gennady Golovkin are just two of the names being bandied around as a possible matchup in the future.

And after a long layoff, Andre Ward is officially back. Ready to bang and crack in the ring–and once again the reigning champ.