Sergey Kovalev Eyeing Showdown With Andre Ward
Sergey Kovalev recently disposed of Jean Pascal in their questionable rematch, winning via TKO in the seventh round to retain his three light heavyweight titles. With that out of the way, the Russian boxer is now diverting his focus on Andre Ward, who he could possibly fight by November if everything goes according to plan.
It will be Ward’s turn to take the ring this March 25 as he goes up against undefeated boxer Sullivan Barrera at the Oracle Arena. It will be Ward’s light heavyweight debut, per RingTV.
Ward recently appeared in the movie “Creed," where he portrayed the role of a fictional Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler and has not fought since June of last year. His win over less-heralded Paul Smith was his first one after being out for about a year and a half.
Ward was also scheduled to fight in one of the undercards of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto match last November but he was forced to pull out due to injury.
According to the news outlet, despite being undefeated, Ward has found it tough to rise among the ranks. He is undefeated, but promotional conflicts and injuries have hindered him from boosting his stock.
However, all that will change as Ward is now being handled by Jay-Z agency Roc Nation. His upcoming March fight is the first of an exclusive three-fight deal with HBO. One of his big fights will be against Kovalev. Although Ward has been on and off in the boxing circle, the Russia still holds high regards for the American boxer.
“If we going to fight with Andre Ward, it’s going to be a really big test for me,” said Kovalev via Boxingscene.com. “Therefore I would like this fight because Andre Ward is a great boxer and a great champion in super middleweight division, and he’s Olympic champion. He’s a very smart fighter. He’s a big test. I not avoid any fight like Chickenson [a derisive nickname for lineal 175-pound champ Adonis Stevenson].”
Speaking of Stevenson, the WBC titlist did take exception to Kovalev's comments (Chickenson) by entering the ring with his entourage to confront Kovalev.
The camps of Kovalev and Stevenson were in previous talks, which unfortunately bogged down due to financial split conflicts, per Boxing Scene. Kovalev’s manager, Egis Klimas, says that they have moved on and the next fighter in mind is Ward. One interested spectator could be Stevenson, that is unless both face off first before Kovalev and Ward get it on reportedly by November.
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