Andre Ward vs Edwin Rodriguez: The Prodigy returns

By Peter Wells (twitter- @boxingsaddler):

Ward(left) & Rodriguez(right) face off ahead of Saturday's fight

Public disapproval wont change Andre Ward, and why not, at 26-0(14) no fighter has discovered a blueprint to beat him, so why switch tactics. If its not broken, don't fix it! Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson and several other top 10 Super Middleweight fighters have been left scratching their heads or in some cases not giving Ward the credit he deserves - because he didn't stand and trade with them. Or more to the point, because he was quite simply better than them.

Ward has proven to be leagues above his closest rivals and is in need of fresh faces to offer him the challenge he craves. It has been 14 months since Ward systematically took apart a weight drained Chad Dawson, injury leaving the pound-for-pound star on the side-lines. And that long wait couldn't have been helped by Kessler and Froch's comments about the Californian ahead of their rematch earlier this year.

The whole waiting game will have only made Ward hungrier, but talking about being hungry, Edwin Rodriguez 24-0(16) has been through a long and tiresome journey, and I'm not talking about in the ring.  Just over 6 years ago, Edwin's wife gave birth to twins 16 weeks premature. For a long time it looked as though his son and daughter would not survive. But Edwin Jr and Serena managed to pull through, and although both suffer from autism they are alive and well, against all the odds. Now it is their fathers turn to beat the odds.

Throughout his son and daughters struggles Edwin has fought on in the ring, winning every contest to date, earning money has been a necessity for the Rodriguez family and there was no one more deserving to win the $1million prize for winning a four man tournament in Monaco. A 1st round annihilation of Denis Grachev ensured a life-changing sum of money and more importantly a shot at the big time he has worked so hard for.



Family first: The Rodriguez family have already won their toughest battle

From an early stage in his career Rodriguez has not been matched easy, with wins coming against James McGirt(TKO 9), Aaron Pryor Jr(UD 10), Will Rosinsky(UD 10), Don George(UD 10), Jason Escalera(TKO 8) and Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna(UD 10) as well as Grachev. And the trend continues as Rodriguez could not have been matched harder in his first world title shot.

As for Ward the exquisite boxer also set his career alight when entering a tournament. The Super Middleweight Super Six kick started his career instantly when he bullied Mikkel Kessler(TD 11) in a one-sided affair. Other victories have come against; Henry Buchanan(UD 12), Edison Miranda(UD 12), Allan Green(UD 12), Sakio Bika(UD 12), Arthur Abraham(UD 12), Carl Froch(UD 12) and Chad Dawson(TKO 10).

Wards record speaks for itself and his fighting style will leave Rodriguez with little room for error. Edwin will have size on his side though, having fought up at Light Heavyweight he comes in with a 5inch reach advantage and against Ward will have to use this to full effect. Ward is deceptively strong and can tie the biggest of challengers up when they get inside. This will mean Edwin will have to fight from the outside, and assert his reach to deny Ward controlling proceedings from the end of his jab.

Rodriguez also packs a punch with his backhand, but will find very few opportunities to launch his heavy artillery, as Ward always uses his speed to great effect, which will allow him to move in and out without coming out on the end of a Rodriguez right hand.



Too good: Ward(right) is pushed by Froch(right) but wins comfortably

I expect Ward to offer different angles for Rodriguez, not allowing the Dominican Republic fighter to plant his feet with any consistency. With Ward constantly moving, it will deny Edwin the chance to settle behind his long reach, thus slowing the pace down to a level in which Ward can control proceedings. With short left hooks and snapping right hands Ward can dart in and out while avoiding counter punches with clever lateral movement. And while it would make for a wonderful story to see Rodriguez triumph after all that he has been through it is unlikely that Ward will slip up on Saturday night. Andre can continue his unbeaten streak, while ending Rodriguez's with a wide unanimous decision win.

On the undercard their is an intriguing clash of unbeaten fighters as Brandon Gonzales 17-0-1(10) takes on Jonathan Nelson 18-0(8) in a 10 round Super Middleweight bout. Gonzales was unlucky to draw last time out to Thomas Oosthuizen while Nelson is taking a big step up in class.

The pick is for Gonzales to box cautiously, losing a few of the opening rounds before upping the tempo and picking apart Nelson on route to a victory on the cards.