Ward's ring win 'bittersweet'

OAKLAND

Andre Ward answered every question people asked about him, answered all the questions Saturday night with a unanimous decision over Edison Miranda. And most of the answers were good and one wasn’t so hot.

People wondered if Ward could take a shot, specifically a right to the chin. He had been knocked down once and had gone woozy one time and there was a suspicion, or maybe a hint, that he was fragile, vulnerable, available. Miranda definitely would pose the question because, if he has nothing else, he has a right hand that can knock over a baby oak tree.

The issue for Miranda was simple. Could he land the right so we could see the result?

Yes, he landed the right directly on the Ward kisser, landed any number of times — Ward’s sweat flying like pellets off his hair into the dark arena air.

“I saw a serious shot land upside his head,” Ward’s trainer, Virgil Hunter, said. “It upset me.”

But Ward took the shots upside his head and on his jaw. He didn’t fall down and his legs didn’t sag and he didn’t do one of those wild hulas disconnected fighters specialize in. He took the shots and kept plowing forward.

So Andre Ward is not fragile and his chin is not made of fine delicate china. He’s a good fighter who can take a good punch. Good.

He answered another question. Could he beat a quality fighter?

Yes, he could beat quality. Miranda is quality at about the “B” level. The “B” level is good, as you know. He has fought top opposition — lost to the top of the top. But he is known around the world, known as a tough customer.

It was about time Ward fought someone like Miranda, took on a fight like this.

Ward had fought mediocre opposition and his people, who treated him like a lyric poet instead of a fighter, brought him along too safely and slowly. Truth be told, Ward has had an unexciting career, especially for the man who was our last Olympic gold-medal winner in boxing — 2004. Until Saturday night no one outside Northern California knew about him except for diehard boxing fans — and that number is dwindling.

But Ward not only beat Miranda. He dominated him. Two of the three judges gave Ward 11 of 12 rounds, as I did.

Miranda, it became clear right away, had a puncher’s chance only. If he could land enough rights, he hoped Ward would fall down and maybe get counted out. Miranda is a man who goes through his professional life with one idea. Land right hand.

Ward, a bright guy, understood that idea for what it is. He moved away from the right or ducked under it. Miranda continued to throw the big right because he knows nothing else.

“I thought it was going to be a lot easier,” Miranda said, “but it was tougher than I expected. In the 10th round I felt I needed to bring Andre down as I said I would. But with the decision, I don’t feel cheated. Andre is a champion. I have respect for him.”

But this was not a complete success for Ward because there was one more question, which he did not answer in the affirmative. Does he hit hard enough? Here’s a bit of important history. Miranda is a guy who hits and gets hit. His last two losses were spectacular knockouts, Miranda getting blasted.

When you fight at 168 pounds you have to hit. You have to make opponents fear you. You have to earn respect.

Ward did not earn Miranda’s respect. Ward hit Miranda a million times but Miranda never took a backward step. It was discouraging from Ward’s point of view.

“This was a kind of bittersweet victory,” Ward admitted.

The victory was bittersweet because Ward did not put away a guy he should have put away.

“I rocked him several times,” Ward said. “He definitely felt me in there. Edison’s a tough guy. He’s going to keep coming. He’s a top guy.”

And that brings us to reality. In the future, Ward will have to fight Englishman Carl Froch, the best super middle in the world, will have to fight Froch if his career is to matter. If Ward can’t hurt Froch or stun him or make him hesitate, Froch, who recently knocked out Jermain Taylor, will walk right through him.

Not that Ward’s promoter, Dan Goossen, is eager to put Ward in with Froch any time soon.

“This puts Andre on top of the 168-pound food chain,” Goossen bragged. “We’re going to come back to Oakland and we’re going to bring another big fight out here. I don’t want to go to England to fight Froch.”

Which means Goossen trusts his fighter — up to a point.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/cohn. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at 521-5486 or lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.