Ward shakes off ring rust, Rodriguez

ONTARIO, Calif. — Andre Ward returned from a 14-month ring absence with a lopsided unanimous decision over Edwin Rodriguez on Saturday night to retain his WBA super middleweight title.

Ward (27-0) won nearly every round in a dominant effort against the previously unbeaten Rodriguez. The judges favored Ward 118-106, 117-107 and 116-108 over Rodriguez, who failed to make weight for the bout, thereby missing the chance to win a title.

“It’s not always going to be a spectacular performance, but a win is a win,” Ward said. “I felt like I did great (after) being off for 14 months, and I’m happy to be back.”

Ward outclassed Rodriguez (24-1) by using his jab and fighting inside to control the pace of each round. Rodriguez responded with increasingly desperate tactics, punching Ward in the clinch and in the back of the champion’s head.

Referee Jack Reiss became angry after an exchange in the fourth round, taking away two points from both boxers for hitting on the break.

Ward continued to punish Rodriguez, who grew increasingly desperate with inaccurate punches against Ward’s superior defense.

“No disrespect to Edwin, but he didn’t really come to win, he came to get lucky,” Ward said. “He wants to hold and make it ugly, and hopes he catches you with something big. You’ve got to learn how to fight those kind of guys.”

Ward hadn’t fought since September 2012, when he stopped former light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in arguably the most impressive performance of his pro career.

The U.S. Olympic gold medalist rose to prominence with a victory in the Super Six 168-pound tournament before beating Dawson to join the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

But Ward spent the past 14 months out of the ring. He had surgery on a torn right rotator cuff before getting into a spat with his promoter, Dan Goossen, and struggling to find a suitable opponent for his comeback fight.

Ward settled on Rodriguez, an unbeaten 28-year-old getting what would have been his first major title shot. Instead, Rodriguez missed weight by 2 pounds on Friday, costing him a reported $200,000.

■ GLAZKOV-WILSON — At Verona, N.Y., Russian heavyweight Vyacheslav “The Czar” Glazkov scored a 10-round decision over short-notice opponent Garrett Wilson in the main event of a nationally televised card at Turning Stone Resort Casino.

Using his jab efficiently, Glazkov (16-0-1, 11 knockouts) won by scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91.

The undersized, 5-foot-9-inch Wilson (13-7-1) took the fight on a few days notice after Tomasz Adamek dropped out with flu-like symptoms.

■ FIGHTER SURGERY — At Hamilton, New Zealand, Kiwi boxer Daniel McKinnon had emergency surgery for life-threatening injuries after losing to compatriot Robert Berridge in a WBO Oriental light-heavyweight title fight.

McKinnon, 30, was listed in a serious but stable condition in Waikato Hospital.

McKinnon and Berridge were knocked down in the fight that Berridge won by a technical knockout in the 10th round.

McKinnon complained of head pain about 15 minutes after the fight and was rushed to the hospial.