Quick quiz: How many people know
the date, opponent or even the outcome of Andre Ward’s first professional
fight?
Here at BraggingRightsCorner, where we tend to be boxing
fanatics, probably at least half of our readers were able to answer at least one of the
three questions (For the record, December 18th, Christopher Molina, Ward won by
KO in the second). Admittedly, the fight was a soft match to break Ward in both
to professional boxing and to his new weight class (That’s right, also not
heavily discussed is the fact that Ward has come down from his Olympic fight class of
Light Heavyweight to Super Middleweight). But still, remember how people cared
about Oscar de la Hoya’s first pro fight? Remember how they cared about Roy
Jones Jr.’s first pro fight? People really cared about those fights. They were
ready to make big, all-knowing predictions about the future of each of those
fighters after those first pro fights. Andre Ward? If you happened to tune in
for the undercard on HBO that particular evening you got lucky, because Ward
looked poised and smooth and it was exciting to watch him take the first step
towards becoming one of the stars of pro-boxing. If after the Olympics, you were
curious about Ward and wanted to follow his pro career, I hope you also
regularly checked every boxing schedule on the net because it’s the only way you
would have heard about the fight.
Why is that? Why is it that we tracked
Oscar and Roy Jones Jr.’s every move after their Olympic runs, but after Andre
Ward wins one of the most dramatic, most meaningful, most emotional (I’m not
going to lie, I was in tears during the medal ceremony) boxing medals in the
history of U.S.A. boxing, people seem... well, not that interested in what he’s
going to do next? Why is that?
My guess is because you’re not likely to
see Andre Ward partying all over L.A. with supermodels and Playmates like Oscar.
Ward’s a family guy, and it’s much more interesting to say, “Oscar’s fighting
great, I wonder what supermodel he’ll party with after the bout” than it is to
say, “Andre’s fighting great, I wonder if he’ll play Scrabble or Monopoly with
his kids after the bout.” Andre Ward also isn’t going to give you a big ring
show like some other fighters, including De la Hoya and Jones. His victory at
the Olympics was humble. His first pro victory was humble. He is a humble guy. In
many minds, “humble” and “professional boxer” go together like “Paris Hilton”
and “Rhodes Scholar.” Are you going to see Andre Ward bedazzled in nothing but
gold sequins any time soon? Well, you may, because seemingly every pro boxer goes
through the sequined right of passage, but underneath the sequins will be a
calm man who trained for years in a tiny, one-ring gym in Oakland and is driven
not by the quest for fame or fortune, but simply by the desire to be true to the
warrior in his heart.
Side note: If you’re ever in Oakland, California, you
should get a work out in at King’s Boxing Gym where Ward trained. It’s, quite
simply, one of the best gyms on earth.
Here’s the important part though
– if you didn’t get on the band wagon early enough to tune in for Ward’s first
pro fight, you have a chance to make up for it next week. Ward’s six-round fight
against Kenny Kost on February 10th at the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lenmoore, CA will be televised on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Ever.”
So not only will you get to see Ward’s fight, you’ll also get the entertaining
banter of Tom Arnold and John Salley before the fight. You can decide for
yourself if that’s a good thing. The fight itself looks like it should be a good
one. Kost, from St. Paul, Minnesota, is no soft match, having gone undefeated in his
first seven professional fights. Kost knows that a win over the Olympic champion
can put him on the map, but Andre Ward is likely to settle into his groove in
the second or third round and start looking for places to land big punches.
Also, headlining that card, you'll also see the twelve-round Super
Bantamweight Championship bout between WBC Champion Oscar “Chololo” Larios
(54-3-1, 35 KOs) and former WBC Champion Wayne “The Pocket-Rocket” McCullough
(27-4, 10 KOs). All in all, a nice evening of boxing that you should tune in for
on FSN. Mark the calendars, or the Palm Pilots, or the post it on the
refrigerator: Thursday, February 10th, 8:00pm local time.
Andre Ward is a
good thing for boxing. Thursday night is a good night to settle down in front of
the television. I hope we all watch it together.
