HBO Boxing results and highlights: Ward wins easy unanimous decision over Barrera

Andre Ward’s return to HBO ended in a comfortable unanimous decision victory over Cuba’s Sullivan Barrera in front of a raucous crowd at Oakland, California’s Oracle Arena.

Andre Ward’s (29-0, 15 KOs) light heavyweight debut was a successful one, as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound boxers scored a knockdown and won a wide unanimous decision victory over Sullivan Barrera (17-1, 12 KOs). The judges scored it 117-109, 119-109, and 117-108, with Ward losing a point for a pretty clear low blow that felled Barrera in round 8. This came just a few rounds after Ward threw punches after the bell had sounded.

Those issues aside, Ward put in a solid performance against a formidable but ultimately overmatched foe. The former super middleweight (168 lbs) champion dictated the pace, avoided Barrera’s big punches and was efficient with his offense throughout the contest. Barrera did have occasional moments of success, and he showed off a good jab that snapped the head of Ward back a few times, but Ward’s footwork, speed, and his technical prowess was just far too much for him to handle.

Here’s the live clip of Ward’s 3rd round knockdown, which brought the Oracle Arena crowd to its feet.

WATCH: Ward puts Barrera down with a big left hook in Round 3. #TweetReplay #WardBarrera https://t.co/UH0yRoK5gW

— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) March 27, 2016

Ward, whose three-fight contract with HBO includes a November 19th pay-per-view showdown with consensus #1 LHW champion Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs), gave himself a “B-” for his showing on Saturday, which seems fair considering it took a few rounds for him to get his sharpness going and assert his dominance. Kovalev was in attendance last night, which brought out the boo birds in full force. It is unknown whether or not Ward will go for another fight in the summer before facing Kovalev, or if Kovalev will be next for the man promoted by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports.

In the co-main event, Joseph Diaz Jr. (20-0, 11 KOs) scored an impressive unanimous decision win over Jayson Velez (23-2, 16 KOs) in a 10-round clash. Diaz’s boxing was crisp, his favored left hand found its target on a consistent basis in the first-half of the fight, and his work to the body sapped the energy out of Velez over time. Velez was visibly hurt in rounds 2-4 but never in serious danger of going down. Despite clearly racking up losing rounds, Velez kept at it, tried to get the better of the exchanges on the inside, but Diaz absorbed the blows with ease and maintained a steady pace until somewhat letting his foot off the gas in the later stages. The judges had it 100-91, 99-91, and 98-92 in Diaz’s favor, making for a successful HBO Boxing debut for the talented 126 lbs prospect. Lopsided scores aside, this was a pretty good fight. Highlights can be viewed below:

For more boxing coverage, be sure to check out Bad Left Hook.

Andre Ward’s return to HBO ended in a comfortable unanimous decision victory over Cuba’s Sullivan Barrera in front of a raucous crowd at Oakland, California’s Oracle Arena.

Andre Ward’s (29-0, 15 KOs) light heavyweight debut was a successful one, as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound boxers scored a knockdown and won a wide unanimous decision victory over Sullivan Barrera (17-1, 12 KOs). The judges scored it 117-109, 119-109, and 117-108, with Ward losing a point for a pretty clear low blow that felled Barrera in round 8. This came just a few rounds after Ward threw punches after the bell had sounded.

Those issues aside, Ward put in a solid performance against a formidable but ultimately overmatched foe. The former super middleweight (168 lbs) champion dictated the pace, avoided Barrera’s big punches and was efficient with his offense throughout the contest. Barrera did have occasional moments of success, and he showed off a good jab that snapped the head of Ward back a few times, but Ward’s footwork, speed, and his technical prowess was just far too much for him to handle.

Here’s the live clip of Ward’s 3rd round knockdown, which brought the Oracle Arena crowd to its feet.

Ward, whose three-fight contract with HBO includes a November 19th pay-per-view showdown with consensus #1 LHW champion Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs), gave himself a “B-” for his showing on Saturday, which seems fair considering it took a few rounds for him to get his sharpness going and assert his dominance. Kovalev was in attendance last night, which brought out the boo birds in full force. It is unknown whether or not Ward will go for another fight in the summer before facing Kovalev, or if Kovalev will be next for the man promoted by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports.

In the co-main event, Joseph Diaz Jr. (20-0, 11 KOs) scored an impressive unanimous decision win over Jayson Velez (23-2, 16 KOs) in a 10-round clash. Diaz’s boxing was crisp, his favored left hand found its target on a consistent basis in the first-half of the fight, and his work to the body sapped the energy out of Velez over time. Velez was visibly hurt in rounds 2-4 but never in serious danger of going down. Despite clearly racking up losing rounds, Velez kept at it, tried to get the better of the exchanges on the inside, but Diaz absorbed the blows with ease and maintained a steady pace until somewhat letting his foot off the gas in the later stages. The judges had it 100-91, 99-91, and 98-92 in Diaz’s favor, making for a successful HBO Boxing debut for the talented 126 lbs prospect. Lopsided scores aside, this was a pretty good fight. Highlights can be viewed below:

For more boxing coverage, be sure to check out Bad Left Hook.