As was expected, WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KO’s) took the bigger, slower Edwin Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KO’s) to school tonight in pounding out a dominating 12 round unanimous decision at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California, USA. The judges scored it 118-106, 117-107 and 116-108.
The fight was ugly at times due to the back and forth roughhouse tactics that both fighters used. Ward turned the fight to the inside in the first two rounds with him smothering the bigger Rodriguez’s shots. But after the 2nd round, Ward began to use more separation to take advantage of his superior hand speed to dominate the action.
In the 4th round, Rodriguez wrapped Ward into a headlock and pushed him to the ropes. Ward then nailed Rodriguez with a big left hand thrown while still being held in the headlock. Referee Jack Reiss then called for a break, but both fighters ignored him and continued to throw punches.
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