OAKLAND, Calif. – Saturday Andre Ward made the most impressive showing of his career, stopping lineal light heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson in round 10 before an impassioned hometown crowd. Impressive, Ward’s performance certainly was. Whether it was enough to make him the superstar some aficionados feel he deserves to be, though, remains to be seen.
“I’m here to see Andre Ward,” said Bay Area resident Devon Donahue, standing at a table in the lower concourse of Oracle Arena during the undercard. “This is my first fight.”
Ward has suffered, unfairly in the opinion of many, a lack of exposure. He has been on premium cable, winning Showtime’s “Super Six World Boxing Classic” most notably, and he fights in a relentless fashion, oblivious of style, a fashion that should appeal widely to the folks in this town. And Ward does appeal, partially.
“First Ward fight,” said Oakland resident Anthony Brown before the main event. “I just want to see a good one.”
Ward is known by aficionados, and respected if not beloved. There is a momentum building, with attendance figures climbing each time he does his punching in the East Bay. But he is decidedly not yet the draw of, say, Floyd Mayweather – even in his hometown.
“Mayweather is established,” said Donahue. “A lot of people here don’t know about Andre Ward. Yet.”
Ward is an Olympic gold medalist, the only current American champion able to make that claim. He is undefeated as a professional. He is a model citizen outside the ring. What, then, does he need to do to become a bigger draw?
“He needs to talk a little shit,” said Elija Holcomb, an East Bay resident whose allegiance to Ward took him to Atlantic City for Ward’s last fight, a decision victory over Carl Froch in December. “We were arguing about that on the way over, would it make a difference? Mayweather is an event. People tune in. I might not like Mayweather, but I watch him.”
There were some billboards on I-880, the interstate East Bay commuters take southwards, this week, and there were banners hanging on Broadway outside the City Center Marriott that hosted fightweek personalities, downtown, but promotional materials for Ward-Dawson were hardly ubiquitous.
“Man, they should have shoved this down their throats,” continued Holcomb, in a lower-concourse booth, pre-fight. “The guy who cuts my hair used to cut (Ward’s) hair. He didn’t – my point is, Ward’s a little invisible. He’s a little invisible.”
In his comportment, both before and after fights, Andre Ward is a gentleman. He believes that if he can continue to fight and beat the very best men in the world, he will eventually become a beloved figure.
“Against the better competition,” Ward said after whupping Dawson, Saturday, “I rise to the challenge.”
Ward’s next challenge will likely be selling himself as a pay-per-view attraction.
Photo by Alexis Cuarezma
