Boxing: Andre Ward Dominates Paul Smith, Stops him in Ninth

In his first fight in almost two years, Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward got the rust off with a dominant performance over Paul Smith in the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

Ward was expected to prevail in his comeback fight and he did so in spades, stopping Smith in the ninth round.

The reigning WBA super middleweight champion fought in front of his hometown fans and competed at light heavyweight for the first time. After a relatively slow start from both men, “Son of God” heated up and never looked back. He rifled his jab with ease and picked the U.K.-based fighter apart at the seams and busted him up more and more with each passing round.

Falling behind in every area, Smith (35-6, 20 KOs) became more and more defensive as Ward turned up the pressure. Though Smith was never knocked down, he was severely cut over his left eye in the eighth, curtailing his vision.

Finally, as Smith as getting pounded on and after a sizzling flurry likely shattered the Brit’s nose, Smith’s corner threw in the towel. The end came officially at 1:45 of the ninth, allowing Ward, among the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters, to remain unbeaten. He now stands at 28-0 with 15 KOs.