Former unified Super Middleweight champion, Andre “S.O.G” Ward (29-0, 15 KOS), successfully made his debut in the Light Heavyweight division on Saturday, March 26, from Oracle Arena in his hometown of Oakland, California.
With his unanimous division victory over Cuban power-puncher Sullivan Barrera, Ward also earned the IBF’s No. 1 ranked Light Heavyweight contender position.
Ward’s jump into the Light Heavyweight division was done with the sole intent to position himself into a fight with IBF, WBA and WBO titleholder Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) who is also the universally recognized best fighter of the division.
After the victory over Barrera, Ward made it clear that a fight with Kovalev will happen.
“It’s not a matter of if, but a matter when,” said Ward.
Ward also explained also broke down how he feels about an impending matchup with the Krusher.
“How do I feel like I would fair against Kovalev? I feel like I am going to win and it’s not going to be an easy fight,” said Ward.
“He’s the champion and he deserves all the credit that he has gotten because not only has he fought everyone in the division, but he’s gone to their hometown to do it.”
When asked how he would plan to beat Kovalev, Ward was candid about not having everything figured out just yet.
“I don’t know right now, we got to figure it out, we got to find a way,” said Ward.
“I feel like that’s the mark of a champion, is somebody who finds a way. We got to find a way and I am very competitive, I am up for the challenge and we are going to find a way.”
Both Ward and Kovalev have struggled to find competitive opposition and the winner could very likely become the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the entire world.
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]“I don’t get caught up in who hits hard. I was supposed to be the little guy tonight and I didn’t look like the little guy tonight. I don’t get caught up in he’s from Cuba and he’s from Russia, I don’t get caught up in that. I’ve been doing this my whole life, I’ve been doing this 20 plus years. So, just like I’ve faced every other challenge, I will face the Kovalav challenge the same way. There is no fear on my end, I don’t fear anybody. I respect fighters, he’s a great fighter and he has done some things other people haven’t done, he’s won on the road, and you got to respect that.” —Andre Ward[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Being that a fight between Kovalev and Ward is just a matter of time, one cannot help but wonder when that time will come. It seems likely to happen by the end of 2016, but there are two larger factors that will need to be cleared up before the fight can occur.
With Ward only having one fight as a Light Heavyweight and in doing so after a long layoff, it feels that he has earned the right to have one more tune up fight before facing Kovalev.
When asked if he wants another fight before Kovalev, Ward clearly stated his intentions.
“Yes, I feel it is just, and I feel like I have earned that right,” said Ward.
Many boxing fans disagree as they feel like Ward has had far too many long layoffs, followed by tune-up fights and want to see Ward fight a real competitor sooner rather than later.
The remaining issue is Ward’s three-fight contract with HBO. The debate in question is whether Ward’s fight on Saturday counted as his first fight in the HBO contract or his second.
Ward was forced to pull out of a fight with Alexander Brand earlier this year due to knee swelling. It is believed that HBO would like to count Barrera as Ward’s second contract fight and have him face Kovalev, on November 19 for his final contracted fight.
Round By Round Boxing asked Ward for clarification on the HBO contact matter, to which Ward was not inclined to provide any further information.
“Personally, I just try to keep the business behind closed doors,” said Ward.
“I don’t even know who put that out there, and it’s a great question, but I try to leave that kind of stuff [for my business team]. I let them work that stuff out and if somebody talks about it publicly, so be it, but I try not to get into it publicly because personally I just kind of think that’s kind of behind closed doors.”
There is no doubt that this behind-closed-doors issue is going to play a factor as to when Ward will actually face Kovalev. If Ward indeed has two fights left on his HBO contract, he would likely receive one more tune-up competitor before the build up to Kovalev.
If HBO only has one more fight on contract with Ward, one could expect that fight would be a fight against Kovalev sooner, rather than later.
The next month or so should answer many questions for the timeline of when the fight between Ward and Kovalev will occur. Regardless of the details and contracts, Ward summed it up best.
“A fight with Sergey Kovalev is not a matter of if, but rather a matter of when.”
Photos by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
