OAKLAND, Calif. – Andre Ward defeated Sullivan Barrera by a unanimous Saturday at the Oracle Arena.

The performance was more solid than spectacular but Ward certainly earned the victory. The former Olympic champion, who has fought only twice in 2¾ years, had to work hard for everything he got in a grueling fight.

Ward (29-0, 15 knockouts) didn’t land a lot of shots but he generally beat Barrera to the punch, got the better of sporadic exchanges and was very difficult to hit himself.

Ward also landed the biggest punch of the fight, a left hook that put Barrera (17-1, 12 KOs) down in the third round. The Cuban might’ve been stunned but he wasn’t seriously hurt.

The judges thought Ward did more than enough in his second fight at 175 pounds. The scores were 117-109, 119-109 and 117-108, all in Ward’s favor.

Ward hadn’t fought since he stopped Paul Smith in June of last year. He was scheduled to fight in November but had to pull out because of a knee injury.

A full report will follow.