Beating Andre Ward was always going to be Paul Smith’s Mission Impossible.
But, when the American brought a lop-sided contest to an end in the ninth round in California on Saturday night, we still did not have rock-solid evidence about the state of Ward’s boxing after his 19 months away from the ring.
Certainly, Ward’s absence has not rusted his all-round class, even at 31. He was just about punch perfect. He moved well and his timing and judgment of distance were as good as ever. But he was under little pressure for all but a few moments.
So complete was Ward’s domination of Smith, it was difficult to tell if he could have done as convincing a job against a better opponent – or could yet do so down the line. Would he have looked so good (for a second time) against Carl Froch at super-middleweight, for instance – or Sergey Kovalev at light-heavy? Could middleweight Gennady Golovkin move up and give him a good fight at catchweight?
All of those are legitimate questions, but we are none the wiser because not only did Smith come in more than 4lb over the limit, he was never going to stretch Ward once he went into survival mode – which was in round one and went all the way through to the bloody end.
As Nick Halling said on Sky, Smith can expect some media flak for not only failing to make weight but for failing to mount a meaningful challenge in the biggest fight of his career.
Smith’s brother, Callum, understandably perhaps, doesn’t see it quite like that.
Callum fights Christopher Rebrasse – who lost to George Groves – at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Friday for the WBC silver super-middleweight title. He was clearly disappointed with his brother’s defeat when we spoke on Sunday, but made a case for him.
“We always knew it was going to be a tough ask for Paul, special fighter that Ward is,” he said. “He’s head and shoulders above everyone in the super-middleweight division. I think he’s proved that with people he’s beaten over the years. But Paul went over there and gave a good account of himself. He did well, didn’t take a lot of punishment early on. But, as the fight went on, Ward started to get into his rhythm. But Paul took the fight when a lot of people would not have done. He always gives 100%.
“The plan was for Paul not to take a lot and then, when he got his chances, to let his shots go, but credit to Ward. It was a bit like [Manny] Pacquiao and [Floyd] Mayweather. People were screaming for Pacquaio to throw more shots, but it’s hard to do when Floyd’s not there. Ward was never there to be countered. His feet were good. He was always out of range when Paul was planning an attack. Ward is a very special fighter.”
After Smith landed a solitary hook-jab in the fourth, his trainer, Joe Gallagher, told him, “You’re getting in good positions, Paul, but you’re not pulling the trigger. You’ve got nothing to lose. Let them go.”
While Smith tried in the fifth, there was so much coming back from different angles he could not settle. It was as if Ward was reading his mind, filling in the gaps as he pleased.
“He’s getting bored, Paul,” Gallagher kidded him after five rounds. “Time the right hand.”
He finally did, rocking him in the seventh, his best round – which he still lost – but retaliation was swift and painful in the eighth. Gallagher threw in the towel in the ninth. Smith, bleeding and bruised, appreciated the gesture.
The oldest of the four fighting Smiths, Smigga has probably edged closer to retirement after 41 contests, two of them failed world title challenges against Arthur Abraham, and this non-title headliner against an opponent entitled to be compared, at his best and fighting regularly, with Floyd Mayweather as the sport’s finest, pound-for-pound.
Beforehand Smith told Sky: “I loaded up with fluids, wrong set of scales in the hotel bathroom. Didn’t get to the officials until Friday morning. Genuine, honest mistake. I made 168 in September, it’s not as if I have problems with my weight.”
It would have made no difference either way. Smith is a straight-up guy but, in the fight of his career, he was out of his depth. It will not be a night he looks back on with a single fond memory.
Callum, meanwhile, is moving smoothly through his own career. “I can’t really look past Rebrasse. It’s a tough fight. But a win there gets me the WBC silver title, and that opens a few doors. I’m getting closer and closer to a world title. This fight is a good step up for me. I’m only young. I’m not in any rush.”
And that, perhaps, was Paul’s problem. At 32, he was just running out of time.
The real problem
If Adrien Broner was as good as he thinks he is, he’d be Floyd Mayweather.
Unfortunately for the man who calls himself The Problem, he’s Adrien Broner, and, although he scored a late knockdown, all he shared with Shawn Porter on Saturday night was a boxing ring for 12 rounds.
There’s their odd spelling of a first name, too – but the problems on the night were nearly all Adrien’s. He doesn’t look to have fully recovered from those knockdowns against Marcos Maidana and, although skilled, boxes self-consciously, the pose as important to him as the execution.
For 11 rounds he boxed as if Porter was Mike Tyson. When he did threw a proper shot – in the 12th round – the man from Cincinnati put the man from Cleveland on the seat of his pants. And Ohio was the winner in the end.
Porter recovered, finished strongly and deserved the wide points verdict.
Whatever some revisionists said, he did not beat Kell Brook, and he would not do so in a rematch – at whatever weight. He boiled down to a catchweight of 144lbs for this one and still looked markedly bigger than Broner.
“I”m OK,” said Adrien. “My kid’s OK. I’m financially OK. It’s OK.”
But he knows it ain’t OK. That attitude is nearly as bad as his previous belief that he is Floyd’s natural heir.
Brook, by the way, looks to have been relaxing heartily since defending his title against Frankie Gavin, filling out his sharply tailored suit behind the Sky Sports desk with button-straining efficiency – to the point where he appeared bigger than middleweight Matthew Macklin.
