Andre Ward vs. Alexander Brand: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) cruised to victory in his tune-up bout before a highly anticipated light heavyweight title clash with Sergey Kovalev in November, defeating heavy underdog Alexander Brand (25-2, 19 KOs) via unanimous decision at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, on Saturday night. 

Per HBO Boxing, Ward won every round on all three judges' cards:

The 32-year-old, who hadn't fought more than once in a calendar year since 2011, looked content to bank rounds in anticipation of his fight against Kovalev. In that respect, it was similar to his easy unanimous-decision win over Sullivan Barrera in March.

He toyed with the 39-year-old Brand, throwing him looks from both orthodox and southpaw stances. While he was reluctant to let his hands go early, Ward found the range midway through the fight, landing sharp counterpunches with ease and dancing out of the way of Brand's hectic forays on the attack.

The overall action was lacking, as Ward was content to fight off his back foot for stretches and never looked intent on finishing off Brand. Ward telegraphed the caution he displayed in comments before the fight.

"He's the type of guy that's going to come in, duck his head and swing and pray for a miracle," Ward said, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur. "You have to focus against those guys so that there aren't any slip-ups and you perform. And not just win, but win in good fashion."

Bad Left Hook assessed the lopsided affair:

Brand, who didn't turn professional until he was 32, has spent most of his career fighting in favorable conditions in his native Colombia. His biggest fight to date was a split-decision loss to Badou Jack in Las Vegas in 2012, one in which he hung tough but did little to impress.

Against Ward, Brand's herky-jerky style remained a constant but hardly disturbed the preternaturally calm Ward.

Ward began the fight with typical patience, probing with his left hand while keeping his right hand pinned to his chin. Brand surged forward on occasion but either missed the mark or fell into a clinch. Boxing writer Daniel Roberts noted Ward hardly looked like an amped-up prizefighter early on:

There was little in the way of action through three rounds, though USA Today's Mike Coppinger appreciated Ward's ability to set up his jab: 

If anything, Brand's awkward, lunging fight style made it difficult for Ward to string together combinations to the head. The Colombian didn't seem inclined to go on the offensive through the first three rounds, leaving Ward content to sit back and time some crisp shots to the body.

After three dreadfully slow rounds, the hometown fighter finally got a rise from the crowd in the fourth, smacking Brand with a hard left hook out of a clinch and then piling on with a two-punch combination seconds later. 

Still, it wasn't enough to placate ESPN.com's Dan Rafael: 

The flurry of action was a sign of things to come, however, as Ward picked Brand apart in the fifth. He even threw in some looks from a southpaw stance, getting in close and landing hooks to the body.

HBO Boxing provided highlights from the frame:

Ward stayed in the southpaw stance for the sixth, and the fight fell into a pattern of Brand throwing a few punches that hit nothing but air before Ward popped him with hard power shots to the head. 

HBO Boxing showed off a particularly nice string of punches from Ward in the seventh:

Ward cruised to the end of the fight, pummeling Brand but not doing enough to finish him off. The only tension was over whether Ward would finally knock Brand out, but the merciful punch never came.

Even though Kovalev, sitting ringside, had a nice view of the fight, Bad Left Hook felt there was little for him to glean from Ward's showing:

Ward probably got everything he needed from the fight, working on his timing and his southpaw stance, but he didn't do anything to please fans who have seen little of him over the past few years. 

Ward shut out Brand on the cards Saturday, but it will take more for him to defeat Kovalev when the two meet in the ring in Las Vegas on Nov. 19.