Ward finds edge in ‘boxing mecca’

Andre Ward had heard about the advantages of training in Las Vegas.

Warm weather. Nearby mountains to run. Gyms filled with capable sparring partners.

Perhaps most important, no distractions from family and friends.

So instead of training in his native Oakland, Calif., for his super middleweight fight Saturday with Edison Miranda at that city's Oracle Arena, Ward chose Southern Nevada.

"Las Vegas is the boxing mecca," Ward said. "This is a huge fight, and we needed to get away to prepare."

Ranked in the top 10 by all of the boxing organizations, Ward (18-0, 12 knockouts) trained at Barry's Boxing and ran five to six miles a day on the trails of Mount Charleston and Red Rock Canyon. He said it was different from any previous camp.

"You feel like you're in (training) camp in Vegas," he said. "I've never had a better place to run than Mount Charleston. It was the perfect place for me."

Miranda (32-3, 28 KOs) has talked a lot of trash leading to the fight. But Ward shrugged it off.

"I'm not worried about what he says," Ward said. "I'm busy working."

Ward's bigger concern is making sure he doesn't lose focus in front of his family and friends as he fights in his hometown.

"I know they want me to put on a great show," he said. "But you can't let the crowd impact you. You've got to take care of your business. But it's great for the city of Oakland to have this fight. I'm definitely excited about fighting in my hometown."

• PACQUIAO-HATTON STATS -- The Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton junior welterweight showdown May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden produced a live gate of $8,832,950 with 15,368 tickets sold, according to numbers released by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

The closed-circuit telecast, available at 11 sites in Las Vegas, sold 11,515 tickets and generated $575,750 in revenue.

HBO has not released pay-per-view numbers.

• CORRALES FOUNDATION -- Thursday marked the two-year anniversary of the death of Diego Corrales, the former super featherweight and lightweight world champion, and his widow, Michelle, has started a foundation to help feed the homeless in Clark County and beyond.

The Diego Corrales Foundation began its efforts Thursday by helping to provide meals for 300 women and children at the Shade Tree shelter on West Owens Avenue. Several boxers, including IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, Zab Judah and Kevin Kelley, along with Corrales' former promoter, Gary Shaw, pitched in to serve meals.

Corrales died in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas in 2007.

• PLANET HOLLYWOOD CARD -- The "Rock and Box" fight card at Planet Hollywood on Saturday has been canceled because of sparse ticket sales.

Promoter Roy Englebrecht told NAC executive director Keith Kizer that he hopes to have a card at Planet Hollywood in June. But Englebrecht will have to pay the fighters for the postponed card first. That includes light heavyweights Ronald Johnson and John Johnson and women's bantamweights Melinda Cooper and Monica Lovato.

• TOP RANK ADDITION -- Top Rank signed Mark Melligen, a super lightweight from Bacolod City, Philippines. Melligen, a 23-year-old left-hander, is 14-1 with 10 KOs.

Melligen most recently beat Ramon Montano at the Hard Rock Hotel, winning an eight-round unanimous decision.

• PLAZA RESULTS -- Super featherweight Sharif Bogere of Las Vegas improved to 8-0 with a second-round technical knockout of Marcos Herrera on Friday at the Plaza.

Junior middleweight Ishe Smith scored a six-round unanimous decision over Chris Gray, and super featherweight Lonnie Smith Jr. won a six-round unanimous decision over Francisco Palacios.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.