Andre Ward advanced to the semifinals of the Super Six tournament by beating Allan Green by unanimous decision on Saturday night.
Ward (22-0) completely controlled his first defense of the WBA super middleweight title and advanced to the final four of the modified round-robin tournament with one round to go. He won all 12 round from the three judges in front of his hometown crowd in Oakland.
"I absolutely did expect a little tougher fight, but every fight is tough,'' Ward said. "I don't care what it looks like. This guy is to be respected.''
Green (29-2) lost in his first fight since replacing an injured Jermain Taylor in the tournament. He still can advance to the semifinals by winning in the third round against Mikkel Kessler.
Ward won the title when he beat Kessler in the first round of the tournament last November.
After a feeling out process in the first round when both fighters went long stretches without even attempting a punch, Ward took over with a few strong left hands.
Ward backed Green into the ropes early in the third round. That is where the fighters spent much of the rest of the fight, with Green backed into the ropes and Ward delivering punches from close range.
"We planned on going inside throughout the fight, but not as much as we did after the second round,'' Ward said. "He obliged me, so I said, 'OK. He wants to fight inside, so this is where it's going to be.' He did a great job. He hung in there longer than I thought he would.''
Green was upset that he wasn't included in the original field of the tournament and questioned Ward for postponing the fight earlier this spring because of a right knee injury. But he couldn't back up his bold prefight talk once he got into the ring.
He connected on few punches and at times appeared to be just holding onto Ward to stand up. Ward delivered a couple of big blows in the seventh round at the ropes and the referee asked Green if he was OK after the round.
"I've had three training camps since December, and that really made me feel weak,'' Green said. "I had to stop running about three weeks ago because I was feeling so weak in training camp. I wasn't feeling right, and I knew coming into this fight that I wasn't feeling my best. Andre Ward showed me a lot of things that I know about, a lot of things I can deal with, but a lot of things I couldn't react to because I was feeling extremely weak. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, that's just how I felt.''
Green lasted all 12 rounds, but needing a knockout to win late he had little left. The fight ended with Ward connecting again near the ropes. Green had won six straight fights, with his only career loss coming three years ago against Edison Miranda in a middleweight fight. Ward beat Miranda by a unanimous decision last year.
Ward's final fight in the round-robin stage of the tournament will come against Andre Dirrell. Ward is assured of a spot in next year's semifinals but can clinch the top seed with a win.
The Super Six was designed by premium cable network Showtime to feature six of the best 168-pounders in the world, with each guaranteed three fights and earning points based on their outcome. The four participants with the most points would advance to seeded semifinals, with a championship bout scheduled for next year.
The fans in Oakland liked almost everything they saw in the fight, except for an appearance by former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. The fans booed Russell as he walked to his seat in the eighth round, still upset over three failed years as Raiders quarterback that ended with his release last month.
Russell, wearing an Alabama Crimson Tide hat and jacket, was booed again loudly as he left the arena after the fight.
