Photo by Vincent Ethier
Earlier today on ESPN’s Sports Nation, Sergey Kovalev joined Michelle Beadle, Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley to talk about his upcoming fight in July against Isaac Chilemba and a future date with Andre Ward.
When asked why he is fighting in July against Chilemba and not immediately against Ward, Kovalev was honest.
“It’s contract [laughs],” said Kovalev with a grin. “We have two fights and we fought already once, [in July] we’ll do it again.”
Kovalev is scheduled to face Chilemba in Russia on July 11, which is a Tuesday, though it is unclear whether HBO will pick up the fight and air it live.
Kellerman asked Kovalev about comments that the Russian-born fighter has made in the past about Ward, saying that he doesn’t know if he can beat the undefeated American.
“Coming up against him will be a huge test,” said Kovalev. “He’s a great boxer.”
As for the wait, Kovalev doesn’t seem to have any problems with Ward getting a few fights in before they finally meet.
Kovalev acknowledged that Ward has had a long layoff and knows he will be prepared for an end-of-the-year clash.
Wiley went on to ask Kovalev about a potential clash with the 160-pound Kazakh crusher, Gennady Golovkin. Kovalev did not dismiss the idea, but stated that it would have to be at Light Heavyweight.
“Anybody who wants to come to light heavyweight, I’ll face him,” said Kovalev.
