Paul Smith has paid tribute to the skills of Andre Ward after his emphatic defeat at the hands of the lineal super-middleweight champion.

Ward, 31, returned from a 19-month absence from the ring with a ruthless ninth-round stoppage in Oakland and Smith, whose pre-fight preparations were disrupted by problems making the catchweight of 172lbs, was full of praise for his unbeaten opponent who inflicted the first broken nose of his career.

Smith said: "He's just a quality operator. I had my moments here and there but his class showed through in the end. He's unbeaten for a reason. He was quality.

"He wasn't the biggest puncher, he didn't have the most power but he was accurate and sharp with it. He's got a great boxing brain, very underestimated and he was clever inside as well.

"I had a feeling he'd come for me but we were happy with that. We hoped he'd stand and leave himself open to counters but he was too clever for that and hats off to him.

"I don't know what shot it was. It was a good shot that landed and it's broken my nose. It's never gone before in my life and I've always laughed and joked about it that I've got a straight nose, but it's gone now.

"My nose rarely bleeds in fights. I can count on one hand the amount of times it's gone in fights and spars but I had a lot of problems as soon as it went. I felt the blood pour from my nose and everything went a bit strange.

"I've no excuses. I've not had the best week and I'd have liked to have come over a little bit earlier. I had a lot of water retention when I came over. As soon as we came over here, no water was coming off.

"It's all lessons learned and there's no excuses. I've lost to a quality operator in Andre Ward."

The defeat was Smith's third in a row following back-to-back points reverses to WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham and the Liverpudlian is now set to take a rest.

When asked on his future plans, Smith said: "I'm going to see my family. I've got a baby on the way and I won't be doing anything until that baby's here and the family is a bit bigger."