Andre Ward advanced to the semifinals of the Super Six boxing tournament by beating Allan Green by unanimous decision on Saturday.
Ward (22-0, 13 knockouts) completely controlled his first defense of the WBA super middleweight title and advanced to the final four of the modified round-robin tournament with one round to go. He won all 12 rounds from the three judges in front of his hometown crowd in Oakland.
Green (29-2) lost in his first fight since replacing the injured Jermain Taylor in the tournament. He still can advance to the semi-finals by winning in the third round against Mikkel Kessler.
Ward won the title when he beat Kessler in the first round of the tournament in November last year.
The Super Six was designed by US cable network Showtime to feature six of the best super middleweights in the world, with each guaranteed three fights and earning points based on their outcome.
The four participants with the most points advance to seeded semi-finals, with a championship bout scheduled for next year.
After a feeling out process in the first round, Ward took over with a few strong left hands.
Ward backed Green into the ropes early in the third round. That is where the fighters spent much of the rest of the fight, with Green backed into the ropes and Ward delivering punches from close range.
Green was upset that he wasn’t included in the original field of the tournament and questioned Ward for postponing the fight earlier this spring because of a right knee injury, but he couldn’t back up his bold prefight talk once he got into the ring.
He connected on few punches and at times appeared to be just holding onto Ward to stand up.
Green lasted all 12 rounds, but needing a knockout to win late, he had little left. The fight ended with Ward connecting again near the ropes.
Ward’s final fight in the round-robin stage of the tournament will come against Andre Dirrell. Ward is assured of a spot in next year’s semi-finals, but can clinch the top seed with a win.
■RAHMAN VS MILLER
AP, NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK
Two-time former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman continued his comeback by scoring a fourth-round technical knockout over fellow-American Shannon Miller on Saturday.
The fight was stopped by referee Charlie Fitch — and at the request of Miller’s corner — 1:37 into the fourth round after Rahman (47-7-2) sent Miller (16-5-0) to the mat for the fourth time in a main-event fight that was scheduled to go 10 rounds.
The fight was Rahman’s second since a seven-round TKO loss to Wladimir Klitschko in December 2008.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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