Paul Smith to face Andre Ward despite failing to make weight

British super-middleweight Paul Smith has failed to make weight ahead of his California bout with Andre Ward.

A catch-weight of 172lbs had been agreed between the two fighters, but Smith came in at 176.4lbs, which is even 1.4lbs heavier than light-heavyweight, the weight class above super-middleweight.

However, Ward, who weighed in at 171.8lbs, has allowed for the bout to go ahead, but according to ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael, Smith can't weigh in at over 181lbs on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, the Liverpudlian has reportedly been fined 20% of his purse for the contest.

Smith is coming off the back of two world title defeats to Arthur Abraham, and it had already been agreed that Ward's WBA belt wouldn't be on the line, even before his issues with the weight.