Las Vegas, NV (November 10, 2016) – In the lead up to Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the undercard will round out a 10-bout card filled with some of the best young boxing prospects.

Opening the card will be middleweight Meiirim “Sultan”Nursultanov of Merki, Kazakhstan, making his pro debut. Nursultanov, now residing in Oxnard, CA, is managed by Egis Klimas, and recently signed by Main Events. He will be taking on Henry Beckford (4-5, 1 KO) of Hempstead, NY, in a six-round bout.

Bakhram Murtazaliev (6-0, 4 KO’s) of Grozny, Russia and close friend of Kovalev is coming off a second round knockout over Magomedkamil Musaev. He will be featured in an eight-round middleweight bout against Botirsher Obidov (6-0-1, 2 KO’s) of Anijan, Uzbekistan. This will be his first fight outside of his homeland of Russia.

Opening up the freeview telecast, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, will be an eight-round junior welterweight bout featuring the undefeated Sonny “Pretty Boi” Fredrickson (14-0, 9KO’s) of Toledo, OH, who is coming off of an a slugfest with Puerto Rican veteran Ramesis Gil. Fredrickson will take on Gabriel Deluc (11-1, 2 KO’s) of Boston, MA, in an eight-round showdown.

The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel.

Another Toledo native, Tyler “Golden Child” McCreary (11-0, 6 KO’s), who is coming off a unanimous decision win, will go toe-to-toe with Vincent “Pooh Bear” Jennings (5-2-1, 4 KO’s), of Grand Rapids, MI, in an eight-round featherweight bout. Jennings is determined to get his record back on track, but he will face his toughest test to date in McCreary.

In the spotlight fight on the freeview telecast, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016) Claressa “T-Rex” Shields of Flint, MI, will make her pro debut. Shields is set to face decorated fellow American Franchon “The Heavy Hitting Diva” Crews in a four-round middleweight bout, with each round timed at two-minutes. This will not be the first time the two have faced off. In their first matchup, Shields upset Crews, the top-ranked American women middleweight, during the 2012 Olympic Trials, the first U.S. team trials for women’s boxing. Crews will also be making her pro debut.

Just before going live on HBO Pay-Per-View, there will be a four-round heavyweight bout featuring undefeated prospect Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock (5-0, 4 KO’s) of the fighting city of Philadelphia. Rock recently scored a technical knockout victory in the third round on Oct. 22 and is wasting no time getting back into the ring. Facing off with Rock will be Brice Ritani-Coe (4-4-1, 3 KO’s). The Vegas resident, originally of San Pedro, CA, will be on the hunt for his fourth knockout.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux and Zappos. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

Fans can catch the freeview telecast beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, and to be announced cable, satellite, and telco channels. The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel.

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Kathy Duva: “Hello everyone, welcome. We are now, I can’t believe it, just a week and a half away from the most exciting, the most compelling and the most competitive fight of 2016, and probably the last two or three years while we’re at it. We are just beside ourselves here. We are exhausted because everyone has been working so hard, but it’s a great feeling. I can’t compliment the fighters enough for stepping up and making boxing what it’s supposed to be and what it used to be, a sport that involved people competing in fights where we didn’t know the outcome. This is a 50-50 fight and we’re starting to feel the buzz and excitement. I want to thank all of you for participating today and I hope to see you all in Las Vegas very soon.”
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev: “Hello everybody, I’m glad to be here.”
Egis Klimas: “I just want to say hello to everybody. I want to thank Sergey Kovalev for making this appearance for this fight and bringing us to this level. He’s the man and he’s the one who brought us here and he’s the reason we are all here on the line. I just want to thank Sergey and welcome everybody to this phone call. Thank you very much.”
John David Jackson: “I just want to thank everybody for being here and I want all of the fans to come out and watch this fight, it’s a great fight between two very good fighters. It’s definitely a fight for the fans to see, so thanks everybody for participating.”
Q: Do you consider Andre Ward to be the best fighter you’ve ever faced?
Sergey Kovalev: “We’ll find out on November 19. I don’t know, but I think so, yes.”
Q: Sometimes Andre Ward brawls, sometimes he boxes. What do you expect him to do in this fight and how are you prepared for his different strategy?
Sergey Kovalev: “I don’t have any different strategy, my strategy is just the one, any cost to get the victory over him. He’s right now in my way to my goals and to my dreams and I should to do my job and fight for my goals and for my dreams. I want to destroy him.”
Q: Have you done anything differently in training to prepare for Andre?
Sergey Kovalev: “Why should I do something different if what I did before gave me success? I followed my same training camp as usual and it should get me in great shape for November 19.”
Q: “Do you think this fight will get you first place in the pound for pound rankings?”
Sergey Kovalev: “I don’t think about what will be after the fight. I have focused my whole attention on this fight and Ward and what I should do inside the ring. We’ll see about this after the fight.”
Q: Do you expect this to be a wrestling fight or a war?
Sergey Kovalev: “Of course this fight is an opportunity for both of us to show the boxing world who is the best pound for pound. I’m sure he will be there to do everything he can to get the victory over me and it’s the same for me. It’s going to be a war between us. Who is the best boxer and who is the best athlete?”
Q: What do you think makes you the more mentally tough boxer in this fight?
Sergey Kovalev: “I think this is most important thing. For me this is a mental fight. It’s not who is stronger, but who is smarter and brings best skills into the ring and who is mentally stronger. If I happen to knock him out, it will be a bonus for boxing fans and for me myself.”
Kathy Duva: “I’ve seen Sergey demonstrate his mental toughness time and time again. He’s been through more adversity in his life than most fighters have ever even contemplated. I’m aware that Ward has faced adversity, but I never heard Sergey talk about how boxing is a sacrifice, where we frequently hear from Ward about how it is. Sergey’s attitude towards boxing has always been, oh wow, this is a great opportunity and I’m so happy I’m doing it. I know he has tough times and there’s days at the gym where he probably doesn’t feel that way. But his attitude has always been about loving his work, and loving what he’s doing. He can’t wait for the fight to start. He works hard because he wants to be the best. It’s not just his mental toughness, it’s his mental attitude, I think it’s very positive and I think that’s the thing that carries him. That and the chip on his shoulder that has been there forever of just wanting to prove that he’s the best. You take that combination of work ethic, and chip on his shoulder and focus like a laser, and then loving what he’s doing. Sometimes when he gets in the ring he looks like he’s about to have a steak, that’s kind of the look on his face. I think that’s part of what makes it so much fun to watch him.”
John David Jackson: “I agree with what Kathy Duva. It’s his upbringing. Growing up in Russia, the hard time that he’s been through I think that’s what makes him the more mentally tougher fighter. That and his desire to be champion and stay champion. He loves the lime light and the adulation that he gets, but I think he’s the mentally tougher fighter and the mentally stronger fighter.”
Q: Does that make it tougher or easier for you to work with him sometimes?
John David Jackson: “A little bit of both. Sergey knows what he wants to do and his plan is already set. I just work off what he wants to do. In the ring he knows what he wants to do as all fighters should know what they want to do. For me it could be hard sometimes when his mindset is set on one thing. But I make it a little bit easier because I allow him to do what he wants and work off what he wants to do and that makes him a better fighter.”
Q: Kovalev has been with you for four and a half years. Can you describe your thoughts from when you first saw him and nobody wanted to sign him to where you are now?
Kathy Duva: “From the moment I saw him in Bethlehem I immediately imagined him being the best fighter in the division. I thought it at that second. I remember Russell Peltz coming up to me saying who wouldn’t you put this guy in with and I couldn’t think of anyone. To be where we are now, in a position to become number one in the world, this is the dream. Main Events has worked with some tremendous fighters and we’ve had some really good runs, but for the most part those were guys that came with Olympic medals and nobody was really surprised when they succeeded. To take Sergey from the point where nobody in Russia knew who he was, where he has never been given a leg up by anybody, where nobody wanted to even look at him to take him where he is today, I have to say, and we at Main Events couldn’t do that with anybody, but when a person came along with the skill and the desire to do it, it was the perfect marriage for us. Sergey gets to show his abilities and talents and Main Events to have the ability to know exactly how to move him perfectly. This is kind of the opportunity that I have been waiting for for a very long time, to prove myself, to prove my staff, to prove my company that we were still there and we could do this and I think we gave Sergey the opportunity to prove what he can do. It was a beautiful thing and meant to be.”
Q: “Ward was expected to be here, he was a gold medalist from the United States, he had a big signing bonus. We hear Andre talk about the sacrifice of boxing whereas with Kovalev this is a great opportunity to box. Andre was expected to be here from day one, maybe Sergey expected it from himself, but it’s a surprise to everybody else, do you think there’s something to that?”
Kathy Duva: “I think there is and I think you make a good point. Even when it comes to the job of making this event work and promoting it, Sergey has taken the attitude from the start that this is my job, this is my opportunity and I’m not going to have any regrets when it’s over so I’m going to do everything I have to do. I think we worked really hard to manage that load for him so it doesn’t interfere with his training. In the brief time I’ve worked with Ward the attitude is different, it’s not hey I’m really happy you’re all paying attention to me, it’s ok we’ll make a list of what we’ll do. I think when it’s always come to you and there have been people standing around you with lights and cameras from the start there’s a natural tendency to kind recoil from it a little bit. Sergey is running towards the light here and I know sometimes it isn’t exciting or fun for him to do that and I know how hard he has worked and I appreciate it more than anything in the world, how hard he has worked to become that fan friendly star that people want to see and know and it shows. He has a very different attitude, for him this is not a chore, this is an opportunity.”
Q: When you were coming up at Don Turner’s camp in North Carolina coming up and Egis was bringing you around from fight to fight to different places and you had no idea if you ever be able to show your talents to a wider audience to the point where you are now. What were your own expectations? How did it go for you in your mind to go from where you were at with Don Turner and Egis pounding it around the country to this fight? Are you surprised at all that you’re here?
Sergey Kovalev: “I’m very surprised myself. When I was in the amateurs I never thought that someday I would turn pro at all. For me professional boxing was very crazy, I thought pro boxing was just beating the whole brain out of your head. It’s very dangerous. In amateurs it was enough with injuries and some hard fights. I felt like I would never be able to do twelve rounds. My wife pushed me to turn pro and one man Anatoliy, Egis’s friend, found me in Russia and he met with me in Moscow and we started to talk about professional boxing. I started to think about it, but it was a maybe. Finally, I made my decision after the 2008 Russian Championships when I won the final fight and the victory was given to my opponent. When I turned pro and came to North Carolina, I was disappointed really. I thought if I turned pro I would get to this level where I am right now. For three years we fought without any promoter, I fought with the support of Egis. Throughout everything he was my father, my brother, my guide, for me he was everything…”
Egis Klimas: (cuts in) “But not the girlfriend!”
Sergey Kovalev: “Not the girlfriend, of course. I can get help from Egis anytime and when I fought 15 or 16 fights, I thought I should go back to Russia and do something to get money another way. After 15 or 16 fights, I had no money, no promoter and not really any future in boxing. When I fought in Russia in 2011, I stayed in Russia for two, three months and I almost decided not to go to America because we didn’t have any plans. We didn’t have a promoter or any plans for the future. I would be back in Big Bear for a workout and I thought, why? Egis called me in Russia and said to me that one promoter, Main Events, Kathy Duva wants to give me opportunity to prove myself and I believed once again that maybe this is the chance, so I should try again. We fought Darnell Boone for the second time and after that I signed with Main Events and Kathy Duva.”
Q: Egis, you’re the one who had the vision, what was it that you saw in him at that time and is the end result right now beyond what you expected?
Egis Klimas: “I was inexperienced. I was the new kid on the block and Don Turner was my tutor, but I didn’t know much about what’s going on. Bringing Sergey to this point, we were in Kazakhstan and he did shadow boxing and Don Turner said Egis, where did you get this guy from? After that we went on a very long run. I used to call every single promoter, I used to try to put him on every single show. I used to try to show him to everybody who was around.”
Sergey Kovalev: “We were like kittens in this business. Like a kid being thrown into the water to learn to swim, we were just trying to get somewhere, to get to the shore. Kathy was the one who gave a hand to Sergey and said come here, come this way, swim this way.”
Egis Klimas: “If anybody is trying to bring me today manager of the year or to manage other fighters, it’s Sergey who brought me to that stage.”
Sergey Kovalev: “We brought each other, the three of us have helped each other and right now we all have success.”
Egis Klimas: “Exactly, he makes a very good point. Nobody knew who Egis Klimas is, nobody knew who Sergey Kovalev is, everybody knew Main Events but at that point Main Events didn’t exist, but now we have one big team and we are winners. And after November 19 we are going be winners, no question about it.”
Q: Andre Ward is known for his high boxing IQ; you’ve been saying you’re going to be the smarter fighter. Can you speak on how confident you are that you will be the smarter fighter when you guys meet?
Sergey Kovalev: “You will see on November 19. I am making a great training camp to kick his ass, this is my goal. A lot of people around the world will watch this fight and I understand this, and I’m going to prove who I am.”
Q: John David Jackson, can you speak on how Sergey is going to be the smarter fighter when he faces Ward?
John David Jackson: “A lot of so called experts and people in boxing say that Ward is a smarter fight. Listen, Ward is smart at what he does, but a lot of what he does is not fighting, it’s surviving and making his opponent frustrated with the tactics that he uses. Sergey on the other hand is a pure all around fighter. He can fight you if it comes down to it, but on the flip side to that Sergey is a very intelligent boxer and he knows how to fight. He doesn’t come into the ring trying to be a one punch knockout artists. If you watch Sergey’s fight, in his brilliance he looks to break down his opponents systematically. He does want a knockout, but he’s learned how to build up to the knockdown. He knows how to cut the ring off and break guys down to the body and if you want to fight with him and you’re looking for a shootout, you’re not going to win because his clip is fully loaded. Andre may be smart and very intelligent, but he’s fighting with half a clip. It’s like LL Cool J once said, you can’t fight an army with a handgun. Ward has a handgun and he’s a fighting against a tank, and the tank is smart, he knows how to fight and how to systematically beat him. For those that don’t know and realize how smart Sergey is in the ring, on November 19 they’re going to find out.”
Q: Have you guys been stressing having more patience in this fight because it is Ward and he’s a patient and crafty guy?
John David Jackson: “I think Sergey has figured that out by himself and we work off that. Ward is crafty and patient, but you can’t be that patient and crafty when you got a guy who has bombs in both hands. Sergey is going to break him down the way he has to. You don’t have time to dictate the pace of the fight and jab here and hold there. When you have a guy coming at you with power in both hands, he’s not going to have the time to be able to do all of the things that he wants to do. This fight here, he has to fight and if he’s not willing to fight he’s in trouble.”
Q: Who do you think has the physical advantage in this fight?
John David Jackson: “As an amateur Andre fought at 178 and he turned pro at 168, so he’s always been the bigger guy after he hydrated. But he can’t be the bully for this fight because he’s not the bigger fighter. Sergey is going to be the bigger fighter. As far as the advantage, it depends on how much he had to lose for this fight himself because he walks around pretty big himself. The seven-pound difference wasn’t a big deal to him because he was killing himself to make 168. I still say the advantage goes to Sergey, he’s the stronger fighter and in the ring it’s going to show. He’s more physical. How much more? We’ll find out that night, but I still give the advantage to Sergey.”
Q: You have a great right hand, are you expecting Andre to be turning southpaw the night of the fight? Do you think he’ll be doing that a lot?
Sergey Kovalev: “Yes, I think he will be changing his positions during the whole fight because in some moments he will be feeling uncomfortable after my punches.”
Q: It seems like he switches southpaw when he has his opponents frustrated. What do you think about that?
Sergey Kovalev: “I know one thing; I will be ready for anything he has to offer in the ring. I understand this and my goal right now is to be ready for everything that he will offer.”
John David Jackson: “Ward may turn southpaw, but when he does get hit by Sergey I think he’ll go to southpaw less and less and get back to his comfort zone which is the right handed stance. If you look at Sergey’s career, he does very well against southpaws so Ward can turn southpaw if he wants to.”
Q: Kathy what fight would you compare this one to from a historical perspective?
Kathy Duva: “I guess the easiest comparison would be to the first time two undefeated fighters fought for pound for pound supremacy and that was Meldrick Taylor versus Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Main Events promoted Meldrick Taylor so we have been here before. We have also been involved in major fights with people like Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Arturo Gatti and Pernell Whitaker and on and on and on. But I have to say this is the first time we’ve taken a guy that didn’t come out with an Olympic medal or the heralded amateur career, because Sergey did indeed have an amateur career where he clearly learned a lot, it’s the first time we’ve taken someone who nobody expected to this level of achievement and for that one we’re really proud and really happy. It’s a different kind of excitement for us, it’s a lot more fun when nobody expects you to do it.”
Sergey Kovalev: “Everybody in the world wants to see somebody who kicks my ass, but it’s not happening.”
Q: That depends on who you ask; a lot of people want to see you kick his ass.
Sergey Kovalev: “Believe me, there’s a lot of haters. It’s new motivation for me, I really like to disappoint these people.”
Q: John, what was the game plan for the Bernard Hopkins fight and why did it work?
John David Jackson: “First of all, Bernard is an old fighter. Even though he says he’s an Alien and the Executioner and all that, the bottom line is he’s an old fighter, so you have to treat him like an old fighter. You have to do things that take him out of his comfort zone. You have to make him work. Sergey was able to use his jab to offset Bernard’s trickery, Bernard is very well-schooled and he’s a student of the game. He was just older and unable to do what he once did.”
Q: If Sergey beats Ward do you think he will get full credit for the victory?
Kathy Duva: “As Sergey points out, haters gonna hate. If you look at the picks the reporters are making and the betting line is favoring Ward a little bit, which is awesome because it’s always better when you’re the underdog and, as we’ve been saying on this call, not having it be expected. But Ward, the position he’s in for better or worse, he’s expected to win, that’s who he is. That’s the guy he’s always been, he’s the guy who hasn’t lost a fight since he was a child. You put that out there, then you’ve got to defend that and we don’t think he can. When it’s over I hope Sergey gets the credit he deserves and it should be a whole lot because this is a tough fight.”
Q: As a promoter does it frustrate you that Sergey is the B side here?
Kathy Duva: “To me he’s not the B-side. His name is first on the poster, he does have the world titles. I think that designation of A- and B-side is an unfortunate thing in many cases, but when you have two guys who could argue all night over who’s going to win then there’s no A-side and no B-side. It’s two great fighters fighting each other. Sergey holds the titles right now, Ward has held titles in the past. Ward is a legendary fighter; Sergey is trying to become one. There’s little different points in the legacy aspects of their careers, but nevertheless this is the fight that we wanted. We wanted it sooner, but we had to wait and so we did. Ward has had his fights that he needed and there’s no excuses. There are certain fights that defy that A-side/B-side description and I think this is one of them.”
Q: Do you think Sergey’s last three opponents, Bernard Hopkins, Isaac Chilemba and Jean Pascal, have built him up for this fight before it was even signed?
John David Jackson: “To a degree maybe. What people don’t realize is that Sergey can fight against any style. He’s very intelligent in the ring, he knows how to solve the fighters’ defensive mechanisms. Those three fights have helped him prepare for this fight, but I think Sergey would have been able to solve the Andre Ward problem regardless. Ward is crafty and he’s not going to be a big problem offensively. If he does, then he’s rolling the dice and he’s going to leave himself open for wide open shots and I don’t think he’s going to do that, especially after he gets hit by Sergey. I think he’s going to be evasive and try to avoid Sergey’s power shots, and if he’s really evasive, how can you win a fight being an evasive fighter? He’s going to have to stand and fight eventually.”
Closing Remarks:
Sergey Kovalev: “Pay attention to November 19 everybody. It’s going to be a huge fight with Andre Ward. He’s never lost before, but it’s my job. So let me be the one to do it.”
Egis Klimas: “We’re looking forward for somebody to lose and that would be Andre Ward. I’m sorry about it, but that’s the only thing I think I can say. Tune into HBO PPV on November 19.”
Kathy Duva: “You’re going to see the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world on November 19. Make sure all of your readers and viewers know about it because this is the fight Mayweather-Pacquiao should have been.”
Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos, JetLux and Monster Products. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.
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Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos, JetLux and Monster Products. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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You out-boxed Bernard Hopkins in a terrific fight. Do you think you’ll need to outbox Andre Ward to win the fight or is your power going to be the difference?

Yes, my fight with Bernard Hopkins was one of the biggest fights in my career. Bernard is great fighter so I trained very hard for his fight, before this nobody knew I could box. I am training very hard to improve my boxing skills even more for this fight with Andre Ward. I believe I can knock anyone out, but I also believe I am good boxer. If I knock him out it would be great because boxing fans would be very happy, and me too, but I am training for 12 round fight with Andre Ward, because anything can happen in boxing. If I cannot knock him out then I must be prepared to go 12 rounds with him. He is very good defensive fighter, and difficult to hit. My last fight was against Chilemba, he was also very good boxer. He was difficult to hit sometimes but I was prepared to go distance and used my boxing skills to win fight. This fight with Andre Ward is definitely biggest, most important fight of my career and I will be prepared for him 100%.

Road to Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, November 12 at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Andre Ward Blog Part 3: Monday, November 7

This is your third fight of 2016 after fighting only three times since 2011. How easy/difficult has it been for you to get back to rhythm? Is the time off good or bad for a fighter?

It varies for every fighter. For me, the rhythm rushes back the moment I step into the ring. My time off didn’t take a toll on me mentally or physically. I don’t poison my body, I don’t drink, smoke or party, so I never worked against myself. Even in my time off, I remained truly dedicated to the sport. I still spent hours upon hours in the gym, even when I didn’t know when I would fight again. That benefited me because when it was time to get back in the ring, there was no rust. I picked up right where I left off.

Look, I’ve been boxing for 20-plus years. That’s a grind. Breaks like that can really benefit a veteran fighter like me because it afforded me the chance to recharge both mentally and physically.

This is my third fight following my return, and I’m at my peak. On November 19, you’ll see an Andre Ward you’ve never seen before.

Road to Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, November 12 at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Oxnard, California: Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) is prepping for his upcoming fight with Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) for the NABF Light Heavyweight Title on the Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” HBO Pay-Per-View televised undercard, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Photo Credits: Craig Bennett/Main Events

Training for this upcoming bout with Chilemba, Gvozdyk has been in camp with Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and had this to say about his preparation for this mega-fight:

“My training camp is going good. I am almost finished with my conditional part of preparation, where we are working on strength, speed and stamina. Next week I’ll be more focused on developing special skills and tactics. I’m satisfied with all results which I get during the preparation, and will keep following my game plan.”

A Ukrainian Olympic bronze medalist for Ukraine, Oleksandr hails from Kharkov, Ukraine, but moved to Oxnard with his wife and three children to pursue his professional career. “The Nail” misses his hometown and tries to visit as much as possible.

Question: What have you learned sparring with Kovalev this training camp?

Gvozdyk: It is very great experience for me. He is a great fighter. When you train with a strong fighter you getting stronger.

Q: Oddsmakers have this fight 50-50. What do you think about the match-up?

OG: This is fight between intelligence and power. But Sergey is smart as well. Both fighters is tough. Both fighters have proved that they are the best. Now we will figure out who is the best pound for pound.

Q: You have never gone past the sixth round in a professional fight. Chilemba just went the distance against the Krusher. What is your game plan if you can’t stop him early on and the fight has to go the distance?

OG: I always train for the fight to go the full distance. This fight if I can stop him earlier it is ok but if not I will be ready to go whole distance.

Q: After his fight with Kovalev, Sergey said Chilemba was frustrating him because he was difficult to hit. How will you alter your plan if you can’t land the big shots?

OG: I will try to finish him if I can. If I can’t, I will try to box him and get the decision.

Q: Kovalev-Ward is arguably the biggest fight of the year. Is there added pressure fighting on this big stage?

OG: Not really. My only fight is against Chilemba. I am not going to fight against audience; I am going to fight against Chilemba.

Q: You were knocked down in the first round by Karpency. What turned the tide and allowed you to come back and stop him?

OG: I was in the first round and I came in without a game plan. It was just my mistake. I learned from this experience. I hope I will not repeat the same mistakes.

Q: Have you changed anything about your training camp to prepare for Chilemba?

OG: I am not change a lot. I try to prepare for each fight the same but I also try to include something or add something new. This camp was no exception. I added some physical work and some rounds in sparring. Little things.

Q: Chilemba has nearly three times as many professional fights as you. Do you think his experience will give him an edge?

OG: Maybe he has some edge in pro fights but I also have 250 fights in amateurs. So I think it can be even. We will see in the ring.

###

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos, JetLux and Monster Products. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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Pensacola, Florida: Yesterday, Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) held an open workout for members of the media in advance of his upcoming fight on November 19 against Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) for the NABF Light Heavyweight Title on the Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” HBO Pay-Per-View televised undercard live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Chilemba and Jones
Photo Credits: Scott Foster/Main Events

Click Here For Photos – Credit: Scott Foster/Main Events

Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba

Question: How did you become a boxer?

Chilemba: “I was born in Malawi. When I was 14 one day I was walking around and friend of mine asked me if I want to come to the boxing gym with him. I looked in the window and I was just drawn to it. When I saw boxing I thought, ‘Wow that’s me.’ I walked in and asked them how to start and they said I could start now. I took off my flip flops and that was the beginning.”

Q: Have you done anything new to prepare for this fight?

IC: “I have been a professional fighter for ten years. During that time, I have figured out what works for me. I have been sticking to that stuff but we keep adding new stuff too. Now that I am working with Roy Jones there is a lot of new stuff added to my routine. He has added things to improve my style. But as far as conditioning goes I stick to the same. Everything has been going well so far.”

Q: Did you know about Roy Jones as a child?

IC: “Growing up I looked up to Roy. When I started boxing the fighter I most wanted to be like was Roy Jones. As far as movements and putting combinations together, I would sit at home and play Roy Jones’ DVD and try to take his talent and make into mine. It is very overwhelming that I am actually here today.”

Q: Have you fought in front of an audience this large before?

IC: “I believe so. When I fought in London it was as big and when I fought in Russia it was as big too. Being on this card is huge to me. I am fighting in the spotlight. I have the opportunity to get back on TV. I am really looking forward to it.”

Q: What can you tell me about your opponent?

IC: “I don’t know much about him. He is tall. I love fighting tall fighters (laughs). I know he is a well-accomplished amateur. Even though he only has 11 pro fights I believe he has all of his experience from the amateurs. He is undefeated. However, that doesn’t bother me at all. All I want to know is he good enough to be on my level?”

Q: Why do you enjoy fighting tall fighters?

IC: “It is easier to hit higher than lower (laughs). Listen, it doesn’t make any difference whether you are tall or short, it comes down to how intelligent and how quick and how much you really want what you are doing. That will determine if he really belongs at this level. All I know is that I will come out of the fight victorious. I cannot say I will go in with Mike Tyson-like defense. I will go in with one plan, if that doesn’t work I will adapt. I love to have all the tools with me.”

Q: What is your strongest tool?

IC: “My will. My heart. I am determined to get somewhere. That is my strong-suit. My will is what keeps me going.”

Q: Are you planning to continue to train with Roy?

IC: “Yes, of course. I think this will be me until my body can take no more.”

Q: What is it like to be trained by Roy?

IC: “It is amazing. It is something I cannot express. I cannot believe I am here training with my idol.”

Q: What has he taught you?

IC: “As a fighter growing up I looked up to him. I copied everything he does and tried to make it into my style. Before now I did not understand why he does the things he does. I just copied what I could see on the TV and my computer. Now I am here and he has explained to me why he does what he does and how to take a step one after the other. It is amazing. It is mind-blowing.”

Q: Why do you think you are going to win?

IC: “I believe in myself. I believe in my abilities. I want to prove to the world that I still have everything and I will be the great fighter I have always wanted to be. Gvozdyk is just something in my way that I am going to destroy.”

Q: You seem like such a nice guy. How can you say you are going to destroy something?

IC: “I never thought of myself as nice. It is my nature to be nice to people who are good to me. But when it comes to boxing I have goals that I want to accomplish as a fighter and anyone that I am fighting is like a block in my way. There is no nice way to penetrate through that and in order to do that I have to destroy. When it comes to fighting I am no longer a nice guy. Outside the ring you can be nice but inside the ring you cannot. That is what I am trying to do.”

Roy Jones Jr.

Question: What can you tell me about Isaac and how did you two get connected?

Jones: “Isaac is very good. He is one of the top-ranked light heavyweights in the world today. He is a very good fighter. I first saw him fight about six or seven years ago and I thought he could be something special. I called him and told him I would like to work with him. The only thing was he was fighting Sergey Kovalev. So I told him that we would wait until after that fight and then he should come to train with me. This guy can fight. I know he can fight. We decided that after the Kovalev fight we would get together. He came here to see me after the Kovalev fight. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw where he had been lacking. Now we are working to correct those things.”

Q: Why do you train fighters?

RJ: “Because I love it. I love giving back to the sport. I feel it would unfair if I didn’t give back to others what I have gained. I love the competition. I love the underdog. I love taking fighters to the next level. The reward for me is that I was able to effect somebody’s life. I was able to take what God gave me and pass it on to somebody else and make their life better as a result. The fact that I can use what God gave me and help make somebody else better that is what I get out of this.”

Q: Talk about working with Isaac.

RJ: “I love training Isaac. His whole career he wanted to be like me. So many people have told him that he can’t be like Roy Jones Jr. They told him to quit trying to fight like Roy Jones Jr. But what they really meant is that they don’t know to teach him to fight like me but instead they told him he just couldn’t do it. I understand how to teach him. He can do some of the things I do. He can’t be Roy Jones Jr. There is only one Roy Jones Jr. I can’t be him and he can’t be me. I wanted to be like Muhammad Ali, that is why I started boxing. I can’t be Muhammad Ali. We always draw a picture of what we want to be in our minds. Now he can learn a lot of reasons why I do the things I do and he can be a better student of the game.”

Q: How far has he come along since you started working together?

RJ: “Isaac has come a long way in a short period of time. I am not so surprised because he had a lot of my movements down already but he just didn’t know why he was doing them. The more we work together the better he is going to get. It is just a matter of time. I am really impressed with him. From what I can tell he wasn’t having a good time in camp in the past. That is what Roy Jones is all about, having a good time while training. You must enjoy your job. If you don’t enjoy your job, then why are you doing it? I enjoy training. I enjoy teaching him.”

Q: What is your prediction for the fight?

RJ: “I think it will be a good fight. I understand Gvozdyk is a very good fighter. Isaac has never been knocked out. Isaac is relentless. He loves what he does. He was in the ring with the toughest puncher in the world, Sergey Kovalev, and even Kovalev couldn’t knock him out.”

Q: What are Gvozdyk’s best attributes?

RJ: “He is a straight puncher. He has power in both hands. He is not a bad fighter at all. I like him. He is quick.”

###

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos, JetLux and Monster Products. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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With a 43-year history of televising the biggest fights in pro boxing, HBO Sports takes an in-depth look at 2016’s most-anticipated matchup of undefeated fighters as they prepare for their light heavyweight unification title fight in ROAD TO KOVALEV/WARD. The special debuts SATURDAY, NOV. 12 at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT, immediately following the “HBO Boxing After Dark” replay that begins at 11:00 p.m.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 13 (11:45 a.m., 4:00 a.m.), 14 (8:45 a.m., 2:30 p.m.), 16 (5:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 17 (3:15 a.m.), 18 (6:45 p.m.) and 19 (5:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 15 (3:40 p.m., 11:35 p.m.), 17 (9:00 p.m.), 18 (1:00 a.m.) and 19 (10:50 a.m.)

The special will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO On Demand, and at hbo.com/boxing, as well as other new media platforms.

Russian-born Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), 33, has taken over the light heavyweight division in meteoric fashion with an aggressive style and overwhelming knockout power. He certified his status as an elite fighter two years ago by dominating ring legend Bernard Hopkins. Now, after locking up three title belts, Kovalev is looking to take his superb career to the next level.

Hailing from Oakland, Cal., 32-year-old Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) was a super middleweight champion before his recent move up to light heavyweight. Ward’s domination of the 168-pound division included wins over Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Allan Green and Mikkel Kessler. Undefeated since age 14, he is the last American male to win an Olympic gold medal (2004) in boxing. Ward boasts a wide assortment of skills that gives him an edge with many seasoned boxing observers.

The special visits the training camps of Kovalev and Ward as they prepare for their light heavyweight unification title showdown.

ROAD TO KOVALEV/WARD is narrated by Liev Schreiber.

“Kovalev vs. Ward” takes place Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Los Vegas, NV and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (PT).

For more information, visit hbo.com/boxing; become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/HBOBoxing; and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing. Follow the conversation using #KovalevWard.

###

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields took to social media today to announce the opponent for her much anticipated pro debut on the lead-off freeview telecast of Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” on Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shields is set to face decorated fellow American Franchon Crews in a four-round middleweight bout, with each round timed at two-minutes. This will not be the first time the two have faced off. In their first matchup Shields, then a 16 year old, upset Crews, the top-ranked American women middleweight, during the 2012 Olympic Trials, the first U.S. team trials for women’s boxing. Crews will also be making her professional debut.

Fans can catch the freeview telecast which includes the live Shields vs. Crews bout, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, and to be announced cable, satellite, and telco channels. The freeview will also be available through livestreaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel. Tickets for Nov. 19 are available at AXS.com and the T-Mobile Arena Box Office.

Oxnard, California: Yesterday, WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) held an open workout for members of the media in advance of his upcoming “Pound For Pound” showdown on November 19 against Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and distribute live by HBO Pay-Per-View. Also in attendance were Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens (28-5, 21 KOs) who will take on James “The King” De La Rosa (23-4, 13 KOs) for the WBA Continental Americas Middleweight Title and Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) who will face Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) for the NABF Light Heavyweight Title on the Kovalev-Ward HBO Pay-Per-View telecast.
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
WBO, WBA, and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion
Kovalev: “I’m excited and everything is going good. I’m waiting for this day, November 19, and I am ready to fight.”

SK: “I don’t have anything personal about him (Ward). I should to win this fight, I only have to prove (to) myself who I am. I am fighting for me first of all, and after this really for boxing fans. This is my boxing career since 11 years old and right now Andre Ward (is) in my way. And he wants to get my titles but I’m still alive.”

SK: “I don’t have any plans for each fight, just get into the ring and do my job. I must be ready for everything what he (Ward) will bring.”

SK: “I got some experience from my fight against Bernard Hopkins. He showed that never give up. That you should to fight all 12 rounds and hope for your win.”

Question: Do you expect Andre Ward will hold you and use his head?
SK: “Yes I think he will use it and I am ready for this too. It will be wrestling and not fight [laughs].”

SK: “I think he (Ward) will look much better in my fight November 19 because he long time didn’t fight, couple years he had a rest and Sullivan Barrera was first fight when he returned. And with Alexander Brand he was better than against Sullivan Barrera. I accept that he’s going to look much better November 19. In best shape.”

SK: “John (David Jackson) just gives me freedom to do what I want, what I would like to do. You know, just like adjust some things and advice between rounds about technique. Working a lot with mitts. I like work with him and feel comfortable.”

SK: “I don’t think that Andre Ward (will) let me use a lot of body shots because he has great legs and a lot of movements. You know he’s very smart. And I think first part of this fight is going to be a lot mentally, but I should prove that I’m Krusher and that I’m going to do my job. He’s going to do his job, me to do my job.”

SK: “I think my last fight against Chilemba, it was like a similar fight you know, because Chilemba’s a little bit style as Andre Ward. But Andre Ward is Andre Ward, a little bit different and stronger, smarter, undefeated and more motivated than Chilemba. I’m interested what he will bring November 19 to the ring.”

SK: “We agreed two fights before our fight. I was ready last year to fight, but Andre wasn’t ready to fight without two fights at light heavyweight. We sign agreement that two more fights and then let’s fight in 2016.”

SK: “I work out morning time. After this some massage therapy, some treatments, after this some rest, little bit nap, cook the food, take a rest and go again to work out. Today two work outs, this was just the first. My plan was a little broke today because usually my first workout is morning time, but right now already almost 3pm. My interview is a workout [laughs].

Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens
WBA Continental Americas Middleweight Champion
Question: Do you want David Lemieux and the rematches?
Stevens: “We all know I want David Lemieux. The question is, is he willing to fight me? Who else? Tureano Johnson, he was winning the fight, but the fight wasn’t over until the final bell rung, and he got knocked out. Some people say it was a premature stoppage, but me, the ref say, you know… I want to be world champion. That was one of my goals, to become a world champion and become a unified world champion.”

Q: How do you feel about being part of this big card?
CS: “It feels great. Second big card of the year. The first one was Canelo–Khan and now Kovalev–Ward. Opened up the first one and now I’ll open up the second one. It’s a great feeling, great. I’m very honored. It’s a pleasure.”

Q: What are your thoughts on De La Rosa?
CS: “A fight is a fight. You can call it a stay busy fight, you can call it a real, well it’s a real fight in general, but you can call it what you want to call it. A fight is a fight at the end of the day.”

CS: “I’m a different type of breed. I come from Brownsville. I’m just a different type of guy. What people fail to realize is that some people wasn’t raised how I was raised. You know? I’m from an era where you sign up in the US Championships, the National Golden Gloves, you couldn’t pick who you wanted to fight. This isn’t a show fight; this is a tournament. First day you got your Andre Ward, you got Gennady Golovkin, you got your David Lemieux’s. I mean the first day! No finals, no nothing. I fought Ward three times, he gave me my first loss ever. Then the second time I fought him, it was a US Championship semi-finals, then the third one was the US Championship semi-finals again. You don’t know where you’re going to meet these guys at.”

CS: “I will always be the chin checkers, that’s what I do, I check in and I check out, I will always be that. I got rid of Showtime. Showtime’s a thing of the past, that’s when I was with my old team. I’m with JDJ now, I’m the Cerebral Assassin, I got to run this tight ship wisely, instead of recklessly. Wisely, get it?”

CS: “John (David Jackson) makes me more relaxed, you know? Let my hands go a little more. Tells me l’m powerful in both hands, so don’t just look to go in there and knock them out.”
Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk
NABF Light Heavyweight Champion
Gvozdyk: When I first started boxing it was for getting stronger. Then I liked it and it became a hobby. Now boxing is everything. It is my life. It is my job. It is my hobby.
Question: A lot of people don’t know you yet. What would you like them to know about yourself?

OG: I would like to become popular in the ring. I do my best and they supposed to watch it. I hope they’re going to like me.

OG: My nickname is “The Nail” and that is just a translation of my last name. I have had this nickname since I was ten years old so I am used to that. When I came here everyone started to call me that.

Q: Talk to us about your opponent.
OG: Chilemba is a very strong fighter. Very smart. He is skilled. He has good defense. It is not going to be easy. I am happy with my preparation so far and I am expecting a good fight.

Q: Talk about the transition you made from amateur to pro.
OG: Whether it is amateur or pro boxing, it is still boxing. You just have to get used to some different timing. You have to learn to distribute your power for ten or more rounds. You have to get more power in the pros but basically it is the same.

Q: Talk about your preparation for the fight and the dedication it takes in the gym every day to prepare to one day get to the level of Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.
OG: I think that if you want to be champion you have to train hard. You are supposed to do your best and train as hard as possible. If you want to be the best, you have to fight the best and you have to train with the best. That is what I try to do. Now Sergey and Ward have both proved that they are the best fighters and now they get to find out who is Pound For Pound #1. I watch them and I try to do the same steps to be like them.

Q: Who do you think wins Kovalev-Ward?
OG: I think Kovalev wins. I know it is like 50-50 fight and it is a very interesting fight for me. It is a fight between intelligence and power.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos, JetLux and Monster Products. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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OAKLAND, CA (November 1, 2016) – On Monday, October 31, 2016, Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) participated in a media workout in Hayward, California ahead of his pound-for-pound showdown against WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs). Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” takes place Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Ward put on a full workout session for the media in attendance, consisting of a series of shadow boxing, heavy bag, double end bag, speed bag and then stretching. Also on hand were youths from Camp Sweeney, Alameda County Probation Department’s residential facility in San Leandro, whom Ward spent time speaking with following the workout.

Below is what Ward had to say during the media workout:

ANDRE WARD, Two-Time World Champion:

“I feel that this fight with Kovalev is 50-50. That’s how I approach all of my big fights. I don’t go into the fight thinking, ‘I’ve got a clear-cut advantage here’ or ‘I’ve got to run through this guy.’ Personally, for me, I can’t roll like that. I’ve got to keep myself honest, stay on my grind, keep my head down and force myself to keep working. I truly believe Kovalev is everything they say he is, and I’m everything that I’ve shown over the years.

“There are always different game plans, nuances, different things you’re working on but I respect every fight that I fight. I don’t get caught up in the whole puncher thing, anybody can get you out of there if you get hit right. I don’t think I’d be sitting here in this position right now if I hadn’t had these highs and lows. We’ve got to find a way to get it done, and we’re going to find a way to get it done. I don’t care what he’s got in his gloves, who he’s knocked out or what he’s done. My job is to get my hand raised, and that’s what we’re focused on.

“I have days where I do some type of cardio in the morning – sprints, distant running – then go back to training camp to get some rest and eat. Then we come to the gym and spar and hit the heavy bag. It’s a monotonous process when you’re in training camp, and that’s pretty much every day. Of course we take days off to rest the body and be smart, but it’s really the same thing every day. As you get closer, you start to pull back a little bit so you don’t over train. That’s normally the week of the fight, so up until the Saturday before the fight, you’re full steam ahead. 100 miles an hour.

“Typically, Virgil and I will go through our process together. He watches a lot more film than I do. He’s up until 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. watching film. As I’ve gotten older, I watch less film. I don’t need to see 10 fights to see tendencies and certain things. I know what I need to see. I may go back and watch a round here and there, but I try and leave room for my instincts. I’m very instinctual. You’ve got to be able to think on the fly thinking on the highest level. I leave room for that. It’s not a checklist you go down. You can’t get into a ring thinking like that. I just believe that who I am and what I have is enough, and that’s what I’m standing on.

“Having young guys like Shakur Stevenson around, it starts to make me feel old because I used to be that guy at Roy Jones’s camp, Floyd Mayweather’s camp, hanging around Bernard Hopkins. You see yourself in them. It’s a little weird, because you’re like, ‘man, now I’m the OG.’ But it’s also a beautiful thing because we need more of that. We need champions and top contenders and just fighters in general to open up the door and allow the young guys on the way to be shown how it’s done.

“I’m honored for Claressa Shields to say that I am her idol. I admire her story, what she’s come from, and think that she’s amazing in the ring. She’s the real deal. I watch her, I pick up things from her. For her to have two Gold medals is amazing. For her to make her pro debut on this fight card is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I think it’s a perfect situation.

“It’s a beautiful thing to be fighting in Vegas. I’m excited. What better time than now in this stage in my career. I’m just excited to continue to prepare so I can do my part to give the fans their money’s worth, those that pay to be there and those paying to watch it. That’s what I’m focused on, and I’m extremely happy to be a part of it. T-Mobile is a new arena, and a new chapter, and to be a part of it is a beautiful thing.”

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Zappos and JetLux. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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Does headlining a PPV event change the way you approach a fight? How much more responsibilities you have? Does that affect your training?

Sure HBO pay-per-view is very important to me; this is big deal. This is my first pay-per-view fight. I think all fighters goal is to be pay-per-view fighter, but it takes hard work and not everybody can do this. For this fight I did more interviews than before because we want to get more fans, but this is part of my job. I am still learning English, I try to learn more all the time. I am more used to this now, so it becomes little more easy speaking English for interviews. I know it’s important because I want fans to come to T-Mobile Arena and to buy pay per view to watch my fight against Andre Ward. Media is only difference this time because this is such big fight. I do every training camp in same way. First I go to physical training in Big Bear, I run, ride bike, lift weights, I exercise, and stretch to get in shape. After physical training I go to boxing training camp. I spar and I work with my coach John David Jackson in boxing ring. My sparring partners change, but most of the time my training is same. I work very hard; I must give 100% in each camp. This is my job; this is what I should do.

Road to Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, November 12 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Andre Ward Blog Part 2: Monday, October 31

Sergey Kovalev could be the most difficult opponent of your career since probably the Super Six tournament. Is he just a power puncher or do you think he’s a legitimate P4P fighter?

Regardless of who I’m fighting—Barrera, Brand, Kovalev, whoever—there’s always different game plans and nuances when it comes to preparation and training. The reality of it is, every fight is a must-win for me. I prepare for each fight as if I’m facing the most difficult opponent of my career. That’s always been my approach, and I think you’re playing with fire if you don’t adopt that mentality in this sport.

I know this is a big fight, the biggest of my career. But my mindset and my focus have been consistent no matter the opponent, and that’s an invaluable asset. We have to look at Kovalev for who he is—a talented fighter that I respect. He’s my next challenge, and nothing reinforces my determination like a challenge.

Road to Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, November 12 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Las Vegas, NV: The Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound for Pound” HBO Pay-Per-View telecast on November 19 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. will now include the 10-round middleweight showdown between Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens (28-5, 21 KOs) and James “The King” De La Rosa (23-4, 13 KOs).
Stevens fought earlier this year on the Canelo-Khan HBO Pay-Per-View telecast and scored a spectacular second-round upset knockout of then-undefeated Brazilian Patrick Teixeira. When asked about the upgrade to the televised card Curtis replied, “I know it is Kovalev-Ward but now it is Kovalev-Ward-Stevens. Time to show out!”

De La Rosa was in a similar situation when he defeated former title contender Alfredo Angulo on the undercard of Mayweather-Maidana. He said, “Déjà vu all over again. The same thing happened when I fought Angulo. I am happy to fight on the PPV telecast. I need this win so I’ll leave it all in the ring come November 19.”

Main Events’ CEO Kathy Duva added, “After we announced Curtis would be fighting on the untelevised portion of the Kovalev-Ward PPV card, we heard from a lot of fans asking that the fight be moved to TV so they could see Curtis. What the fans want, the fans get!”

Stevens, 31, of Brownsville, Brooklyn returned to the ring this past May 7 and stopped previously undefeated Brazilian prospect Patrick Teixeira in the second round on the HBO Pay-Per-View® undercard of Canelo-Khan. The victory over Teixeira catapulted Stevens back into the ranking of all four sanctioning bodies, including Top 10 ratings in both the IBF and WBC. He is hoping to continue that momentum and secure another shot at the middleweight title.

De La Rosa, 28, is originally from Mexico but now resides in San Benito, Texas. His most recent win was a unanimous decision upset over former title contender Alfredo Angulo on the undercard of Mayweather-Maidana. De La Rosa has suffered two back-to-back losses since his win over Angulo but both have come at the hands of two previously undefeated prospects in Hugo Centeno Jr. and Jason Quigley. Commonly, fighters in his position would prefer a tune-up to get back on a winning track but, in this case, De La Rosa opted out of that easy route and decided to test himself against another former title contender in Stevens.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight World Titles, takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. “Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com and the T-Mobile Arena Box Office.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 25, 2016) – Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist and the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year Claressa Shields will be making her much anticipated professional debut during the lead-off freeview telecast of Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” on Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shields is set to face an opponent to be announced in a four-round middleweight bout, with each round timed at two-minutes. The pay-per-view telecast will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The freeview telecast which includes the live Claressa Shields bout will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT and will be available on cable, satellite, and telco channels.

As an amateur, Shields achieved unprecedented Olympic success as an American athlete. She is the only boxer in U.S. history, male or female, to successfully defend a title, winning back-to-back Gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio games. The 21-year-old Flint, Michigan native and four-time USA National Champion has merited accolades at every level of international competition, earning Gold medals in the Pan American Games, two World Championships and two-time AIBA Female Boxer of the Year honors. The pride of a nation, Shields looks to break boxing’s glass ceiling and engage a new generation of fight fans with her move into the professional ranks.

“After working hard for so many years and having the honor to represent my country at two Olympic games, I am thrilled to take the next big step in my career, fighting professionally and leading the rise of women’s boxing worldwide,” said Shields. “There is no better place to begin the journey than to join the biggest fight of the year, Kovalev vs Ward, and to fight alongside my idol and fellow U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward. I can’t wait to entertain the fans on Nov.19!”

“Claressa Shields is a uniquely talented and special young woman. At just 21 years old, she is a once-in-a-lifetime type athlete whose talent inside the ring and charisma outside of it gives her the potential to be a trailblazer for women’s boxing and for all of boxing for years to come,” said Mark Taffet and Jamie Fritz, co-managers of Claressa Shields. “We are proud to be part of Claressa Shields’s team and are thrilled she will be part of the year’s marquee event, Kovalev vs Ward, on Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.”

“Claressa Shields is about to take the boxing world by storm and we are honored to host her professional debut as part of an already loaded fight card on Nov. 19,” said Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy Michael R. Yormark. “Claressa’s unique blend of talent, style and charisma make the two-time Olympian a rising force to be reckoned with in the boxing world and beyond.”

Claressa Shields is a talented 21-year-old boxer from Flint, Michigan. Inspired by former boxing star Laila Ali, Shields developed a passion for the sport and began boxing at the age of 11. It was soon after beginning her journey she realized her family was apprehensive towards the contact sports. After weeks of family discussions, Shields was granted her family’s permission to pursue her passion – a decision they will likely never regret.

Shields burst onto the boxing scene, developing a name for herself as one of the most talented female boxers in the country. Her reputation continued to build through her middle and high school years leading her to become the first ever U.S. women’s boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Games. To Shields, simply earning an invitation to the Olympics was not enough, she wanted to make a lasting impact for her country. After three exciting fights, Shields was rewarded her first Gold medal in the 165-pound weight class, and became the first American woman to win a Gold medal in boxing.

Shields was named the 2014 AIBA Female Boxer of the Year, 2014 USA Boxing National Champion, 2015 Pan American Games Gold Medalist in the light heavyweight division, and two-time World Champion in the women’s middleweight division. Chasing greatness, she became the first U.S. boxer to successfully defend an Olympic title as she earned a second Gold medal at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. Concluding an unparalleled amateur legacy, Shields announced that she would be making her professional debut on the freeview broadcast of the year’s biggest boxing matchup, Kovalev-Ward at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2016.

As a proud Flint, Michigan native, Shields is constantly looking for ways to shine a positive light on her hometown. She understands the importance of being a role model to youth in her community and has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support she has received since returning from Rio with another Gold medal. Following her first Gold medal summer, Shields became the first in her family to graduate from high school and is enrolled in online college classes to pursue her academic goals and competitive aspirations simultaneously.

Follow Claressa Shields on Twitter @ClaressaShields, Instagram @ClaressaShields, and Facebook: www.facebook.com/claressa.shields.7

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight World Titles, takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

“Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com and the T-Mobile Arena Box Office.

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Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev Blog Part 1: Monday, October 24

Has becoming the best P4P fighter ever crossed your mind? Is that a career goal for you?

When I was growing up in Russia I did not hear these words pound for pound. Once I learned what this was I knew this was important. I am honored that people think I am the fighter that could get this title. It’s important for me, for my career. I am champion in my division now, but I want to get all the belts and also I would like to be best pound for pound boxer in the world. I respect Andre Ward, he is very good boxer and Olympic gold medal winner, but he is man not alien so I have chance to beat him. My fight against Andre Ward is very interesting for all boxing fans. We both have undefeated record and top rating. I will be prepared 100% to do all I have to do, box, fight, go 12 rounds, what it takes to win I will do. There is much intrigue, many people talk of this fight. They say it’s 50/50 who will win. We will see on Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena. I hope all my fans will watch pay per view. This is boxing, anything can happen during fight, but I try always to do my best to win. My goal is to get victory over Andre Ward. It’s big step for me in my boxing career and I must be ready.

My Fight: Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, October. 29 on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Andre “S.O.G.” Ward Blog Part 1: Monday, October 24

How difficult is to go from 168 pounds to 175 pounds and be competitive? What did you have to do to make the jump in terms of dieting, preparation, training?

My competitiveness never leaves me, regardless of weight class. I carry my competitive nature wherever I go. I felt my body was ready to move up, and I’m surrounded by a great team that helped ensure I made that transition the right way. We took a diligent approach—utilizing BMI measurements, blood work, nutritional insight—to ensure I was where I needed to be, and all signs were pointing up.

As a light heavyweight, you have to adjust your training accordingly. It’s unlike any other weight class. You need to place an emphasis on explosiveness and strength. That said, the skills I gained from other weight classes hasn’t left me. My agility and my endurance remain-add that to my new strength and explosiveness, and I’m feeling better than ever.

My Fight: Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, October. 29 on HBO.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Pensacola, Florida (October 20, 2016): As former light heavyweight title contender Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) gears up to face Ukrainian prospect Oleksandr Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) on the Kovalev-Ward HBO Pay-Per-View undercard, he will be training with former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr.

Chilemba, 29, originally from Malawi, but now residing in South Africa, is coming off the toughest fight of his career. On July 11, this road-warrior travelled to WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev’s home country of Russia to face the champion in front of a sold-out crowd in his own backyard. Despite the unanimous decision loss, Chilemba’s performance against Kovalev raised a lot of eyebrows in the boxing community. Chilemba managed to go the distance against the “Krusher” a distinction held only by one other fighter, future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins.

For a number of years, Chilemba had worked with trainer James “Buddy” McGirt but when McGirt was unable to make the trip to South Africa to train Chilemba for Kovalev, he needed to find another trainer. For his stunning performance against Kovalev, Chilemba trained with his manager, Jodi Solomon. The Kovalev fight gained the attention of former four-division world champion and Chilemba’s childhood hero, Roy Jones Jr., who contacted cut man Russ Anber and suggested the two work together going forward. Roy invited Chilemba and Solomon to his gym in Pensacola, Florida to discuss the opportunity of training together.

When asked about that initial meeting Solomon replied, “It was a very big deal for Chilemba because Jones was his childhood hero. The trip to Florida was a huge eye-opener. It was awesome to be in Jones’ gym and for Chilemba to see why he does the things he does and to understand his thought process. Chilemba loved every minute of it. Jones is very passionate about boxing. They connected and got along very well.”

Chilemba grew up watching Jones fight on television in Malawi and has tried to mirror Jones’ style throughout his own career. Chilemba is excited to work with his hero one-on-one now. He said, “For years I have been watching him and trying to learn some of his moves to make them to my own. Now I am very happy that I get to work with him. Jones is my favorite fighter of all time. Working with him is like a dream come true. When I was a kid growing up in Malawi, I used to watch him and try to fight like him. Now working with him is amazing. It is even better than what I expected. Roy Jones Jr. is a master and now I get to work with him and understand why he does what he does. I have always watched him fight and tried to copy him from watching him on the screen. Now I get to work with him in person. It is amazing!”

Roy Jones Jr. added, “It wasn’t just that fight against Kovalev that made me want to work with him. I have been watching Chilemba for some time. After that fight I said I would love to work with him. I saw Chilemba the first time he came to the United States and I realized he was emulating my exact style but he has never had a person who could fully explain it to him. Now he is shocked and amazed that he is able to integrate the nuances of my style. His opponent, Gvozdyk is a very good fighter. It is never easy to beat a fighter like him because he is a very smart guy. He was such a great amateur fighter. We do have our hands full but I am looking forward to seeing how Isaac takes the things that I teach him and uses them to break him down.”

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight World Titles, takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

“Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com and the T-Mobile Arena Box Office.

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HBO Sports, widely acclaimed for its innovative boxing programming, takes an in-depth look at the most intriguing matchup of 2016, the highly anticipated Nov. 19 pay-per-view showdown between undefeated light heavyweight stars Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, when MY FIGHT: KOVALEV/WARD debuts SATURDAY, OCT. 29 (10:35-11:05 p.m. ET/PT).

Other HBO playdates: Oct. 30 (10:00 a.m.) and Nov. 1 (10:00 a.m.), 8 (12:20 a.m.), 11 (3:45 a.m.), 13 (11:05 a.m.), 17 (1:50 p.m.), 18 (6:15 p.m.) and 19 (4:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Oct. 31 (5:45 p.m.) and Nov. 4 (3:10 a.m.), 10 (12:25 a.m.), 12 (8:30 p.m.), 14 (noon), 18 (12:30 a.m.) and 19 (10:20 a.m.)

The special will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO On Demand, and at hbo.com/boxing, as well as other new media platforms.

Unified light heavyweight champ Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), who resides and trains in southern California, puts his crown and undefeated record on the line against formidable challenger Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) of Oakland, Cal., a former Olympic gold medalist who cleaned out the 168-pound division and has set his sights on top prize in the 175-pound division.

MY FIGHT cameras travel with Kovalev to his hometown in Chelyabinsk, Russia and connect with Ward in the Bay Area to chronicle the long journey both men took to reach the elite level of professional boxing.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, Kovalev and Ward meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in a telecast to be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. (ET)/ 6:00 p.m. (PT).

For more information, visit hbo.com/boxing; become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/HBOBoxing; and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing. Follow the conversation using #KovalevWard.

MY FIGHT: KOVALEV/WARD is narrated by Liev Schreiber.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 14, 2016) – Rising Dallas, Texas boxing star and NABO Junior Welterweight Champion Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (21-0-2, 16 KOs) will defend his NABA junior welterweight title against Darleys Perez (33-2-1, 21 KOs) in a ten-round bout on the televised undercard of Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” on Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

In his last appearance on August 6, Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker captivated the crowd at Oracle Arena as the co-feature of Andre Ward vs. Alexander Brand. Hooker wasted no time outperforming Washington D.C.’s Tyrone Barnett, landing a flurry of punches before scoring a technical knockout at the 2:17 mark of the opening round to retain his NABO junior welterweight title. Hooker looks ahead to his next challenge, former WBA World Lightweight Champion Darleys Perez. Perez is coming off a May 20 knockout victory over fellow Colombian Ubadel Soto, an impressive bounce back following a tough title defense loss to Anthony Crolla, the previous year. The veteran fighter, who resides and trains full-time in the U.S., will step up a weight class to meet Hooker.

“I want to thank my team at Maple Avenue Boxing Gym, Roc Nation Sports and HBO for giving me the opportunity to show the world a ‘Mighty Mo’ performance on the undercard of the ‘Fight of the Year’,” said Hooker. “For my part, I promise to put on a show for the fans in Las Vegas and the Pay-Per-View audience at home. No one punches like me. It’s going to be lights out.”
Hooker added, “I will be dedicating this fight to Aaron Pyror, who passed away, earlier this week. I can’t think of a better way to honor ‘The Hawk’s’ legacy than with a big win. I look to be a world-class junior welterweight champion like him.”

“This is my chance get back into the limelight. I have fought all over the world and facing Maurice Hooker in Las Vegas on November 19 is perhaps my last chance to show that I have a lot left inside the ring and I plan to take full advantage of it because losing is not an option,” said Perez. “I will move up to the 140-pound division and I will be ready to challenge this young lion who has never fought a guy like me before. There will be fireworks in Las Vegas and I plan to go home a winner.”

“Not only is Kovalev-Ward the most anticipated fight in recent boxing history, with the addition of Hooker-Perez to the televised undercard – Nov. 19 is an evening that international sports fans simply cannot afford to miss,” said Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy Michael R. Yormark. “From our very first day in boxing, Roc Nation Sports has committed to making great fights and creating scintillating global events, and we are thrilled to work with Main Events to add this incredible matchup to the undercard, as ‘Mighty Mo’ Hooker puts his undefeated record on the line against the very talented Colombian Darleys Perez.”

“HBO is the pinnacle of pugilistic entertainment. We are very proud to have Maurice Hooker make both his Las Vegas and HBO Pay-Per-View debut on November 19,” said Arnie Verbeek, Hooker’s manager. “We have worked extremely hard to get to this point in his career and are thankful to Roc Nation Sports for believing in Maurice Hooker’s talent.”

Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (21-0-2, 16 KOs) was born and raised in Oak Cliff, Texas, where he found a boxing home at Maple Avenue Boxing Gym by way of an outreach program for at-risk youths. His natural talent was soon noticed resulting in him competing as an amateur, during which time he participated in over 100 fights, compiling a record of 97 wins and only seven losses, with 67 victories coming by way of knockout. Hooker turned professional on April 29, 2011, taking on the vastly more experienced Tyrone Chatman at the Orpheum Theater in St. Louis. After four rounds, the judges saw the fight 40-36, 37-39 and 38-38, calling the fight a split draw. Undeterred, in his next fight on June 24, 2014, Hooker scored his first professional win, knocking out Wilbert Mitchell in the first round. Eleven wins (eight by knockout) later, he took on undefeated Abel Ramos on January 17, 2014 in a bout that was featured on ShoBox from the Cook Convention Center in Memphis. After eight close, hard-fought rounds, the judges saw the fight a draw. Four consecutive knockout victories would follow before he took on fellow undefeated prospect Eduardo Galindo on June 26, 2015 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas for the vacant NABO junior welterweight title. “Mighty Mo” did not disappoint his legion of hometown fans who saw him capture the title with a sixth round technical knockout victory. On October 17, 2015, Hooker successfully defended his title at Madison Square Garden in New York City against his toughest opponent to date in Ghislain Maduma. The 10-round decision win came on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux and was featured on the event’s “freeview” as well as streamed online around the world. “Mighty Mo” made his debut under the Roc Nation Sports banner on the undercard of Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera, this past March at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, where he annihilated opponent Wilfrido “La Roca” Buelvas of Columbia in the first round of a 10-round junior welterweight bout by way of technical knockout. Hooker returned to Oracle Arena on August 6 as the co-feature on the Ward-Brand undercard, defeating Tyrone Barnett of Washington, D.C., to remain the NABO Junior Welterweight Champion. Hooker is ready to step up to the challenge on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when he faces former WBA World Lightweight Champion Darleys Perez.

Follow Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker on Twitter @mightmohooker, Instagram @mauricemightymohooker and Facebook: www.facebook.com/mauricemightymohooker/.

Darleys Perez (33-2-1, 21 KOs) is a celebrated Colombian boxer hailing from San Pedro de Uraba. As an amateur, with a record of 82 wins and 7 losses, he captured the lightweight boxing gold medal at the 2006 South American games in Buenos Aries, Argentina, and was a contender at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China. Perez made his professional debut on February 14, 2009, by way of knockout over fellow countryman Edwin Ortiz. 27 consecutive victories followed, earning Perez a shot at the interim WBA World lightweight title against undefeated Yuriorkis Gamboa at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada on June 8, 2013. In a closely-fought contest that went the distance, Gamboa prevailed, handing Perez his first career loss. A year later, Perez received a second chance at the interim WBA World lightweight title, successfully scoring a unanimous decision over Argenis Lopez at the Sheraton Hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Perez was promoted to full titleholder status when the WBA stripped Richar Abril of the belt for twice failing to make title defenses. In the first of back-to-back defenses of the WBA World lightweight title on July 18, 2015, Perez topped hometown challenger Anthony Crolla with a majority decision draw at the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom. In the rematch on November 21, 2015, again at Manchester Arena, Perez was taken down for the count in the fifth round by a single body shot. Undeterred by his second loss, Perez returned to the ring on May 20, 2016, scoring with a big second-round knockout over Ubadel Soto. Perez looks to continue his upward streak as he moves up a weight class to take on Maurice Hooker for the NABO junior welterweight title on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 11, 2016): As WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and former Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) prepare for their epic “Pound For Pound” showdown scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, fans, media, experts and odds-makers around the world are split on who will be the favorite to win this virtually even-money battle.

And with good reason. Both Kovalev and Ward are undefeated and in their prime, making for a rare and exciting boxing match-up and a testament to the moxie of the boxers and the promoters.

Jay Rood, Vice President of Race & Sports for MGM Resorts International, provides his expert analysis of this exciting match-up:

“I really believe this could end up being a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate. Usually fighters in good form don’t meet up.”

Because of that, this fight opened close, has remained so and, most likely, will close so.

“It’s not very often that a fight in Las Vegas that’s this significant is this close in terms of odds,” says Rood. “Ward opened at -145 and he now is at -150. I don’t believe it will change much from here.”

The fact that Ward is the slight favorite is because, in part, the public, especially those bettors who consider themselves as experts or ‘sharps,’ tend to go with the boxer over the puncher.

But while Ward is considered the boxer and Kovalev the puncher, both are versatile, in keeping with the tremendous skill each possess. In other words, Ward, the perceived boxer, has power, and Kovalev, the perceived puncher, can box.

“The public is perceiving this fight, right or wrong, as ‘Boxer vs. Puncher,'” added Rood. “Usually the boxer draws the ‘sharp’ action. Most of the ‘sharp’ money will be on the boxer.”

However, the general betting public appears to be trending toward Kovalev.

According to Rood, “Kovalev will draw good action, otherwise this number would need to be closer to -200 to balance the fight (betting action). I don’t think it will be that one-sided. I think the crowd going to the fight will be 60 percent on Kovalev.”

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight World Titles, takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. “Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 6, 2016): Curtis “Cerebral Assassin” Stevens (28-5, 21 KOs) returns to the ring and the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” non-televised undercard to face James “The King” De La Rosa (23-4, 13 KOs) in a ten-round middleweight showdown.

Stevens, 31, of Brownsville, Brooklyn returned to the ring on May 7 of this year and stopped previously undefeated Brazilian prospect Patrick Teixeira in the second round on the HBO Pay-Per-View® undercard of Canelo-Khan. The victory over Teixeira catapulted Stevens back into the ranking of all four sanctioning bodies, including top ten ratings in both the IBF and WBC. He is hoping to continue that momentum and secure another shot at the middleweight title.

De La Rosa, 28, is originally from Mexico but now resides in San Benito, Texas. His most recent win was a unanimous decision upset over former title contender Alfredo Angulo on the undercard of Mayweather-Maidana. De La Rosa has suffered two back-to-back losses since his win over Angulo but both have come at the hands of two previously undefeated prospects in Hugo Centeno Jr. and Jason Quigley. Commonly, fighters in his position would prefer a tune-up to get back on a winning track but, in this case, De La Rosa opted out of that easy route and decided to test himself against another former title contender in Stevens.

According to Stevens, “I’m happy someone is willing to fight me. Bless the Gods. Now, it’s time to turn it up a notch and get ready to check in and check out. The Bully is back!”

This will be Stevens’s second fight working with world-renowned trainer and former world champion John David Jackson. Jackson added, “Curtis Stevens is happy to be stepping back in the ring on November 19 against De La Rosa. He is eager to show the world that he deserves another chance to win the middleweight world title.”

“It’s always good to fight on a big stage,” said De La Rosa. “As always, I’m coming to fight and put on a show. I know I have a tough fighter in front of me in Curtis Stevens. With his style and my style, we’ll warm the fans up for Kovalev-Ward. Thanks to Main Events and AC Sports Management, LLC for putting this together.”

De La Rosa’s manager Adrian Clark added, “This is a must win situation for James and I know that he has the potential to pull off an upset. Curtis Stevens is a very dangerous opposition but again, I believe that JDLR can spoil things and leave Vegas with a ‘W’. It is great to finally work with Main Events again. It has been too long!”

Main Events’ matchmaker and 2015 NABF Matchmaker of the Year Jolene Mizzone had this to say about the match-up: “Kudos to both guys for taking this fight. Curtis Stevens could have waited around for someone to finally accept his challenge, but he wants to keep busy and challenge himself at the same time. James could have looked for that every popular “tune-up” fight but instead opted for a much tougher competitor in Stevens. It’s a breath of fresh air when I get to work with boxers who want to fight!”

*Note: This morning (October 6, 2016) Curtis Stevens and his fiancée welcomed their son King Stevens at 10:12 am. King weighed in 4 lbs 12oz. Mother and baby are both doing well.

Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. “Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

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OAKLAND, CA (October 3, 2016) – Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) officially kicks off training camp in Hayward, CA with trainer Virgil Hunter ahead of his November 19 showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs). Ward’s training camp, which will serve as a base for Ward over the next several weeks as he continues his quest to dominate the light heavyweight division, is sponsored by a resounding collection of American-based companies including Jordan Brand, Shoe Palace, JetLux, and ProSupps.

Below is what Team Ward had to say about the start of training camp:

ANDRE WARD, Two-Time World Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter:

“I’ve been in pre-camp mode for weeks now following my last fight, and have been mentally preparing for the work ahead of me. It’s an exciting feeling to be in full camp mode, where I can dedicate 100% of my mind, body and soul to the battle I am about to face. This is a fight that we have been working up to since last spring. The game plan hasn’t changed. I am here and I am ready.”

VIRGIL HUNTER, Andre Ward’s Trainer:

“No one beats Andre Ward when it comes to training camp. We’re going into camp with the mentality of another day, another fight, another win. His strive for perfection, work ethic and consistency is what makes him a champion.”

JAMES PRINCE, Andre Ward’s Manager:

“With everything set for the biggest fight of the year on November 19, we are excited to open training camp. What is done here for the next few weeks will play a major part in the final outcome. We thank God for the opportunity and look forward to giving the boxing community and all of our fans, the fight that they have been anticipating.”

Tickets for the most anticipated fight of the year are on sale now and start at $55 on axs.com and at the T-Mobile Arena box office.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Rosneft and Corona Extra. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

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Las Vegas, Nevada: Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) will return to the United States on Saturday, Nov. 19 to face dangerous light heavyweight prospect and NABF Light Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs) in a ten round bout as part of the Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound for Pound” pay-per-view telecast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The bout will be presented by Main Events in association with Top Rank. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Chilemba, 29, a native of Blantyre, Malawi fighting out of Johannesburg, South Africa, is coming off a hard-fought loss against WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. Isaac holds the impressive distinction as only the second fighter in Kovalev’s career to go the full 12 rounds. The only is future Hall-of-Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins. In doing so, Chilemba managed to raise more than a few eyebrows among boxing fans and media.

In this redemption fight, Chilemba will have a tough challenge against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, 29, of Kharkov, Ukraine. Despite having only 11 professional bouts, Gvozdyk is a top-ten ranked light heavyweight in the WBC, WBO and IBF. Since making his professional debut in 2014, Oleksandr has defeated the first 11 opponents he has faced, stopping nine of them for an impressive 82% knockout-to-win ratio. In his last bout Gvozdyk secured his fifth straight stoppage and made his first successful defense of his NABF Light Heavyweight Title against Tommy Karpency in Las Vegas in July.

When asked about this match-up Chilemba responded, “Firstly, I thank Main Events for standing by me and for this opportunity. I thank my manager, Jodi Solomon, for always standing by my side and believing in me. I thank HBO, my fans, and all boxing followers around the globe. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, with a good amateur back ground, who is a highly as a rated and undefeated as a pro. I’m going to work with my idol, the person I look up to most, Roy Jones Jr. This is a huge opportunity for me to train with him, learn from him, and have him in my corner. Not only is he the greatest, but he cares and has love for the game. I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring, and completing what I should have done in my fight against Kovalev, but 10 times better than ever!”

This fight will be the first time Isaac will be working with his new trainer and legendary fighter, Roy Jones, Jr. who said, “Isaac is a very exciting fighter with a lot of upside. I am very excited to be training him and be part of his team now. I look forward to seeing much bigger and better things from him in the future. He is fighting a very good opponent so we look forward to this challenge. I can’t wait to start to work with him.”

Chilemba’s manager, Jodi Solomon, added, “I am very grateful and happy that Main Events gave Isaac the opportunity to be on this card. I have no doubt he will come into the ring with as much determination and heart as he did against Kovalev and prove that he has what it takes. Also having Roy Jones Jr. in his corner I believe will only bring out an even better Isaac.”

Gvozdyk said, “I am really happy to have this opportunity to fight on such a big card like Kovalev-Ward. Thanks to Top Rank, Main Events and to my manager Egis Klimas to make my goals come true! Chilemba is a tough opponent and I am expecting a tough fight. It’s a good test for me and I will pass it!”

Oleksandr’s trainer, Robert Garcia, added, “Oleksandr Gvozdyk is an Olympic medalist with a lot of amateur experience, great skills and tremendous power. Chilemba is a very good fighter who lost a decision to Kovalev. I think Chilemba will bring the best out of Gvozdyk. Gvozdyk is very dedicated and came to the USA to become a world champion and this fight gets him closer to that dream.”

Gvozdyk is managed by Egis Klimas who also manages Sergey Kovalev. Klimas said, “I want to thank our promoter and Chilemba’s promoter, Main Events, for giving us this great opportunity. A special thanks to Isaac for taking this fight right after his severe fight against ‘The Krusher.’ Isaac look good in his last fight and we hope he can bring the same kind of performance or even better to the ring on November 19. We are very excited as bouts like this one will make this great show better and better. See you in Las Vegas on November 19 or on HBO Pay-Per-View.”

According to Main Events’ CEO, Kathy Duva, “Isaac was a warrior against Sergey Kovalev. That was a tough battle for both fighters. Many fighters would have preferred a tune-up fight after facing Sergey Kovalev for 12 rounds but Isaac has the heart of a champion. He wasted no time getting back in the ring and demanded the toughest opposition we could find for him. This should be a great match-up on November 19 in Las Vegas.”

“This is a huge opportunity and a step up fight for Oleksandr especially fighting on this card. We believe he’s ready but there’s only one way to find out and we’ll all have the answer on November 19,” said Carl Moretti, VP, Top Rank.

Kovalev vs. Ward will take place Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. “Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and sponsored by MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

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NEW YORK, NY (September 6, 2016) – On Tuesday, September 6, No. 2 Pound-for-Pound and WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and No. 4 Pound-for-Pound and Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) participated in an official press conference at Le Parker Meridien in New York City, in advance of their November 19 “Pound for Pound” showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound for Pound” will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets start at $55 and are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

Below is what the fighters, promoters and other dais guests had to say at the press conference:

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev – WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“It’s a big moment in my career. I want to thank all of the people who are involved with this fight, my promoter Kathy Duva, Roc Nation and HBO Pay-Per-View. Thank you to all of my fans. It will be a fight to remember; one for the history books. I just want to give the fans a really great fight in Vegas and on HBO Pay-Per-View.”

Krusher Kovalev
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events

Andre “S.O.G.” Ward – two-time super middleweight world champion

“I’m grateful to be here today. I want to thank everyone who is associated with this event-the good, the bad, the press, all of it. Obviously HBO, Peter Nelson, Roc Nation, Main Events, everyone who’s associated with it. It’s hard to thank everybody. It’s a lot of people that you guys know of that worked on this fight to get it done. There’s a lot of different nuances that go into getting a fight like this done, but it’s done. That’s what we should all focus on.”

“I thank God for this opportunity. I thank God for my career and being able to compete at a high level through the peaks and valleys. Sometimes that gets overlooked, a veteran in the game. I’ve paid my dues and I continue to pay my dues. This is just another opportunity. I’ve been in this position before and so has my opponent. It doesn’t matter what the other side says, how they feel, what they say. He’s got to get it done and I’ve got to get it done. When those bright lights come on who it’s all about who executes and who gets it done. I don’t have to throw chairs. I don’t have to cuss. I don’t have to act crazy. I said let’s fight, lets fight. You’re selling yourself. I know that what I possess and what I have is in me, and not on me.”

Andre “SOG” Ward
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events

Kathy Duva – CEO, Main Events

“Finally. There was a time when fighters didn’t consider preserving their undefeated records to be paramount to engaging in actual competition. There was a time when undefeated fighters who were heading to the Hall of Fame actually sought out greater and greater challenges as their careers progressed. There was a time when fighters were courageous athletes and not simply cynical businessmen.

The two men who are here with us today-both in their athletic primes, both unbeaten, and, in my opinion, both heading to the Hall of Fame someday-chose to put their 0’s on the line and face each other to find out just which one of them is the very best. That is why they deserve to earn your pay-per-view dollars, this is what pay per view is supposed to be. That is why we should move heaven and earth in order to come to the beautiful T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where this fight will take place. That is why the winner will earn the title of best pound-for-pound fighter in the ring.

Since Ring Magazine began to keep records of the pound-for-pound fighters there have only been two occasions when two unbeaten top five fighters have competed in the ring for pound-for-pound supremacy. The first was Meldrick Taylor vs. Julio Caesar Chavez Sr. in 1994, the second time was Oscar De La Hoya vs Felix Trinidad in 1999. That means that on November 19th, this will be the very first time in the 21st century that such an event will occur in our sport. Let’s hope this is the start of something new, a throwback to the way boxing used to be when it was at its best. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 17 years before this happens again. Let’s hope all the up and coming young sweet scientists learn and follow the example of these young great athletes who sit here today.

So as I said, finally, I’m quite pleased to officially announce “Pound for Pound” and that on Saturday, November 19th, two of the five best fighters in the whole world will fight each other. WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, who is 30-0, will risk all three of his world titles against two-time world middleweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward, who is also 30-0. The fight will take place in Las Vegas, sponsored by our friends at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, at the beautiful new T-Mobile Arena. Tickets are available now, they’re starting at $155 right now because the box office has already sold out all of the $55 tickets we put on sale. You can only get these tickets at the T-Mobile box office and online through AXS.com. I’m happy to report that tickets at other prices are moving much faster than expected and currently there are very few left at the $755 price point and the $155 price point.

This will be live on HBO Pay-Per-View. The suggested retail price is going to be $54.95. It will be presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions. In addition to the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, the fight sponsors will be Rosneft and Corona.”

Michael Yormark – Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy

“Let’s make something absolutely clear – on Nov. 19, the stakes could not be higher. In a few minutes, you’ll hear from Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. They will be calm, they will be professional, they will be respectful, but make no mistake about it, in 10 weeks’ time they will be fighting for something they have spent their entire life pursuing – the title of world’s best boxer. For a true competitor like Andre Ward, there could not be a loftier goal. To walk in to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the undisputed fight of the year, in front of a capacity crowd and millions watching live on HBO Pay Per View, and to know that Andre has the chance to walk out of that ring as the undisputed face of boxing for the better part of the next decade.”

“The Cold War may long be over, but the USA vs. Russia rivalry has never been stronger. It is a battle of world super powers, a matchup of styles as well as beliefs, a collision of two fighters, two cultures, two fan bases. Just like old times, it’s the Americans and the Russians once again. But this is not the space race or Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago. This is for real, and Andre Ward is no underdog. Andre has been training and preparing his whole life for a moment like this – facing an elite opponent on a global stage to find out who the best is. On Nov. 19, I have no doubt that Andre will pick up right where the 100-plus medal-winning American Summer Olympic team left off, with a decisive victory over a worthy challenger in Kovalev, and the title of pound-for-pound king.”

Egis Klimas – Manager, Sergey Kovalev

“I am very proud to represent one of the best fighters in the world, Sergey Kovalev. It’s been a very long road since 2009 when he came here to the United States. He never was pushed by any media, he never was mismatched, he never was protected like many fighters are nowadays. Many don’t know how we used to sit in the van and go from the East coast, town to town, just to get a fight. He never asked me in his career who his opponent is. He just asked when he was fighting and what weight he should be. Again, I’m very proud to represent Sergey Kovalev and I want to thank Andre Ward’s team at Roc Nation for taking this opportunity and putting on the best fight of the year. There has been talk earlier that this is going to be fifty-fifty chance. People also mentioned that they don’t know how it is going to turn out. But, I want to thank a powerful woman, Kathy Duva. She has done a very good job throughout Sergey’s career. I want to thank HBO, T-Mobile Arena, MGM, everybody who was involved in making this fight happen. I’m a little nervous, a little excited, but I am looking forward to whatever it is and can’t wait to see you guys in Vegas on November 19. Thank you.”

James Prince – Manager, Andre Ward

“I’d like to thank God for this opportunity, HBO, Main Events, Roc Nation. I’m really grateful for everyone working so hard to make this fight happen. I witnessed the work and the sacrifice that was made on every side. This fight is kind of simple to me…David versus Goliath. Sergey is Goliath, Andre is David. Once again, I’m really thankful for this opportunity. Andre’s been on this journey for all his life preparing for this moment. So it’s here, the 19th of November.”

John David Jackson – Trainer, Sergey Kovalev

“This fight is one the fans deserve to see. Andre Ward is a very good fighter, undefeated as an amateur. To be undefeated as an amateur is one thing that comes from training. That always speaks volumes for him. On the other side of this we’ve got Kovalev. He’s the Krusher, he seeks and destroys. So come November 19, I expect a great fight between two great fighters. The winner deserves to be pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world. Watch it on Pay Per View, watch this fight. All the talk, all that’s done, now it’s time for preparation and to go to war. And that’s what we’re here for, to go to war. Come November 19th, we’ll see two great fighters trying to be the best pound-for-pound in the world. We’ll see what happens, expect one great fight between two great fighters.”

Virgil Hunter – Trainer, Andre Ward

“I just want to thank you all for showing up and turning out and supporting this great event. A fight of this magnitude is deserving of the fans and Pay-Per-View that are supporting the fight. Obviously, it’s a great fight between two champions and I’m glad to be part of it. See everybody in Vegas.”

Peter Nelson – Executive Vice President, HBO Sports

“I want to thank all the media for being here. It’s all of you that write consistently about the desire to see this sport flourish, have the best fight the best, that causes fights like this to materialize. I want to thank Kathy Duva of Main Events, I want to thank Michael Yormark with Roc Nation, Egis Klimas, James Prince, Josh Dubin for all the work that they’ve done behind the scenes in putting the fight together. There’s been plenty of times where the politics of the business of boxing have superseded fan’s interest over the actual fights themselves.

“I’m happy to report that this fight has consistently captivated everyone’s imagination. Anyone who says today that they know what is going to happen on November 19 is the definition of a liar. We know that there is no telling what can happen. But that, to Kathy’s point, is what defines great fights. It’s about fighters like Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev who have decided to be in the business of putting unified titles on the line and of putting pound-for-pound records on the line, about putting undefeated status on the line, about putting money, status, power on the line, about putting daring to be great on the line, about putting legacy on the line, and the rest of the business end takes care of itself. That’s what great fighters do. That’s why we are all so proud to be part of this event. That’s why there are all these people on the stage that we are all so proud that we are associated with an event where two great fighters will come together for this on HBO Pay-Per-View.

“I want to thank the T-Mobile, it’s a great arena and we are excited to be back there. It looks to be a great undercard that is going to formulate on the show as well. We are excited to see it all come together and look forward to seeing you all on November 19. Thank you.”

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LAS VEGAS, NV (Aug. 27, 2016) – Tickets for the most anticipated fight of the year go on sale to the public on Friday, Sept. 2 at 11:00 a.m. PT. The Saturday, Nov. 19 showdown between No. 2 Pound-for-Pound* and WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and No. 4 Pound for-Pound* and Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) will crown the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Tickets start at $55 and are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound for Pound” is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

The mega-fight will be only the third bout in the history of The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list to pit two undefeated Top 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighters against each other.

Kovalev, the Russian Wrecking Ball, 33, has been dominating boxing’s light heavyweight division with his aggressive, fan-friendly style since his breakout performance against then-unbeaten Nathan Cleverly in 2013. His rise to boxing stardom has been meteoric, as he has gone from an unknown fighter from Chelyabinsk, Russia to headlining HBO Pay-Per-View in just four years after signing with his first promoter, Main Events. Out of of Kovalev’s 30 career victories 26 have come by way of knockout. Additionally, he has entered into championship rounds only twice in his professional career. Kovalev has always sought to test himself against the best boxing has to offer; he wants to prove in the ring that he deserves that mantle.

Ward, 32, the last American man to win an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing (2004), reigned as the WBA Super Middleweight World Champion from 2009 to 2015 while fighting mostly out of his hometown, Oakland, CA. He announced his intention to move to up to the light heavyweight division in search of a bigger challenge in 2015, shortly after signing with his current promoter, Roc Nation Sports. He has been a top rated pound-for-pound fighter since 2011. Ward is seeking to assume his place and leave a legacy at the top of the sport.

Kovalev said, “I am very excited to finally get my chance to face Andre Ward on November 19. I want to face the best competition. I want to be the best Pound-for-Pound fighter in the world. Thank you to all of my fans and I hope everyone will come out and see this great fight on November 19 in Las Vegas.”

Ward responded, “I am excited, man. I am looking forward to it. I want to be the light heavyweight champion of the world… We will see you in November. I have been doing this for 22 years and if I am not ready to fight the best now then I will never be ready. I have been preparing for these moments since I been a kid. You got to respect Sergey for the way he has gotten to where he has gotten. He didn’t have any soft touches. He wasn’t protected. He wasn’t really pushed by the media. He is a guy who should get a lot more credit than he has. The winner of this fight could possibly be pound-for-pound #1.”

Main Events’ CEO, Kathy Duva, added, “There is no greater thrill for a boxing promoter than putting together a fight that the fans want to see. Sergey has always strived to be the best and face the best and on November 19 the new Pound-for-Pound king will be crowned. I think it is fitting that this fight is taking place in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has been home to many of the biggest and best fights, including both Taylor-Chavez I and De La Hoya-Trinidad. Now it will be the venue for the first Pound-For-Pound showdown of the new millennium. This should be a great night!”

Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy, Michael Yormark, said, “From its inception, Roc Nation Sports Boxing has remained committed to promoting the biggest fights featuring the world’s best fighters. That is exactly what we have in Kovalev-Ward – a fight that transcends boxing, transcends sports, and enters the rarefied realm of seminal cultural events. On Nov. 19, on boxing’s most legendary stage, we will find out who the best boxer in the world truly is. It will be a clash of cultures, styles, strategies and personalities and we are proud to represent Andre and be a part of history.”

“This pound-for-pound battle between two great champions will be a sensational matchup at T-Mobile Arena,” said Richard Sturm, president of Entertainment and Sports for MGM Resorts International. “We look forward to working with both Main Events and Roc Nation Sports on this championship event which should be one of the most anticipated fights of the year.”

*According to The Ring Magazine

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According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The WBA Heavyweight title bout between Luis Ortiz and Alexander Ustinov could wind up on the November 19 card featuring Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.

Vlad Hrunov, bidding on behalf of Russian promoter Andrey Ryabinsky’s World of Boxing, was the only bidder for Ortiz-Ustinov, winning with the minimum allowable bid of $600,000. Ortiz is entitled to 60 percent, meaning he will earn $360,000, and Ustinov is entitled to 40 percent, meaning his purse will be $240,000.

Hrunov told ESPN.com that the fight is penciled in to take place on Nov. 19 in Moscow, Las Vegas or Minsk, Belarus, where Russian native Ustinov lives.

However, Hrunov said there is a good chance that the fight will land at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and take place on the HBO PPV card headlined by unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev taking on former super middleweight champion Andre Ward in one of the year’s most anticipated matches.

By Bart Barry-
Saturday in Oakland light heavyweight Andre Ward decisioned a Colombian named Alexander Brand on HBO by scores predictable as they were lopsided. The match was the final installment of a four-part infomercial for Ward’s fall fight with Russian Sergey Kovalev which will happen unless one of them moves to a rival broadcaster the way Adonis Stevenson did the last time HBO used light heavyweight matches as advertisements.

The problem with Alexander Brand was not his incompetence at any skill save enduring consciousness – fogging up the ol’ mirror these days is the larger part of landing a televised role on the side which is B – but how incompetently he met the hopes of Andre Ward’s promoters Throne Boxing (three shows this year, two of them Ward’s) and HBO who put its dwindled credibility behind broadcasting two Ward warmups in 2016 and two Kovalev warmups in the name of a Nov. 19 match whose contract is signed though its venue remains undecided which makes you wonder what else but signatures adorns this fabled contract. Surely someone between HBO and Throne (remember that weekend we thought Big Daddy Kane’s former hypeman was going to save boxing?) hoped Brand would remind viewers of Kovalev in some way less superficial than complexion. And yet.

Brand retreated from the beginning and made himself a barely mobile bag for Ward to practice on in a way that was near to opposite Kovalev’s approach as possible and practice on him Ward did though without anything suspenseful as peril or, heaven help us, a knockdown. Ward seemed to want to harm Brand in the late-middle rounds but overshot his cross uncharacteristically and made disconcertingly little progress with a leaping lefthook lead. Ward was not much of a puncher at 168 pounds and probably isn’t thrilled to be at light heavyweight with Kovalev there awaiting him but what Ward did have seven pounds ago was a defense that looks less impenetrable today than it did when Ward fought and cleanedout real competition as recently as four years ago.

Part of what goes forgotten in the throes of Ward’s Embarassment Years, 2013-2016, is Ward finished the Super Six undefeated and next fought Chad Dawson who beat Bernard Hopkins five months before Ward iced him. Whatever infamous squandering Ward did after he unbuttoned Dawson that name along with Mikkel Kessler’s and Carl Froch’s composes a triumvirate more impressive than every name on Kovalev’s resume save Hopkins’ which has to have an asterisk, even in this dreadful era, if the name belongs to a man in his 50th year when you decision him. To further incite Soviet apologists let us doubledown by adding each name on Gennady Golovkin’s resume to each name on Kovalev’s resume and diminish Ward’s preeminence in no way whatever: Half-century Hopkins remains the only name deserving mention among Kessler’s and Froch’s and Dawson’s which means, in defiance of what industry and relentlessness publicists have dedicated to the cause, in one meaningful category Ward has accomplished about three times the sum of Kovalev and Golovkin.

But toss that when you consider Saturday’s spectacle because Saturday diminished Ward’s legacy more than burnished it so if you need solace it’s here: Ward looked bad enough against Brand to convince a goodish number of the folks who reliably purchase pay-per-views (OK maybe not Crawford-Postol but most) the guy who needed judges to best a 49 5/6-year-old Hopkins is going to rip through Ward. Kovalev is not going to rip through Ward. If ripping through Ward could be done somebody at least would’ve decisioned him in the past 20 years.

Oddly the best argument in Kovalev’s favor is not Kovalev’s career record but Ward’s recent record. Had the guy who snatched consciousness from Chad Dawson gone directly in the ring with even the current version of Kovalev oddsmakers justifiably would’ve set Ward a 4-1 favorite and should still favor Ward though not because of anything they saw Saturday or anything they’ve seen from Ward’s mentor Virgil Hunter in a decade.

What oddsmakers saw to sober them Saturday from Ward were a few righthands that Branded him. Ward complemented the Mayweather low-lead hand with a low-lead shoulder wrinkle of his own – a terrible idea that defied the extended left arm with which Ward otherwise steers opponents – and it got him clipped a few times that did not tell because it bears reiteration: Alexander Brand is godawful. Worse yet for this morning’s oddsmakers was how Ward dropped to his own right to collect those punches in a way that belied what mobility Ward has or once had.

Ward has narrowed his stance considerably against recent opposition to allow a greater transfer of weight back-to-front when he punches and because widening himself as a target hasn’t been a problem for him – opponents of Brand’s caliber have the same chance of solving Ward’s defense in 36 minutes as a fourth-grader has of solving an encryption algorithm with a pencil. But if Ward doesn’t return his feet to the wide spread he previously employed, against Kovalev he’s going feel fragile. He shouldn’t plan either to be so bored by Kovalev he spends rounds as a southpaw like he did against Brand.

So long as Ward keeps stabbing Kovalev’s gut with his jab, though, he should decision the Russian in a match that is compelling. Not four-tuneup compelling, of course, but compelling nevertheless.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

OAKLAND, CA (Aug. 6, 2016) – On Saturday, Nov. 19 the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer will be crowned. Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), the WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion, and Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) Two-Time World Champion, officially announced their long-awaited showdown following Ward’s victory over Alexander Brand at the conclusion of the live HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast Saturday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Kovalev vs. Ward will take place Saturday, Nov. 19. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT and is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions.

Kovalev and Ward are currently ranked the number two and number four pound-for-pound boxers in the world, respectively, by The Ring Magazine, making their hotly anticipated fight only the third bout in the history of The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list to pit two undefeated top-five ranked pound-for-pound fighters against each other. Odds makers and pundits have this fight evenly matched at 50-50 and it is poised to be a sure-fire 2016 Fight of the Year candidate. History will be made on Nov. 19th!

Making the fight even more intriguing, Kovalev and Ward are polar opposites. The Russian Wrecking Ball Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev is an unbeaten knockout artist sitting atop boxing’s light heavyweight division. With his ferocity in the ring and his charisma outside of it, Krusher is on his way to becoming the sport’s next big star. The last American man to win an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward is already a future Hall of Famer. Known for his strong character and integrity outside the ring and his warrior’s instinct inside it, Ward has not lost a fight, amateur or professional, since he was 12-years-old. Kovalev’s seemingly unstoppable offense-first approach stands in stark contrast to Ward’s slick, defensive style that has been an unsolvable riddle for every foe he’s taken on.

Neither man has faced an opponent like this before. Who will be the next “Pound for Pound” king? Find out Saturday, Nov. 19!

Additional details for the event, including ticket information, will be released shortly.

Live on HBO tonight, when asked about whether or not Ward is ready to face him Kovalev said, “I think he is ready. I am ready too. The fight against Chilemba was similar to how it is going to be against Andre Ward. He is a really great champion and he proved this today. I just want to say, let’s do it November 19 on HBO.”

Ward responded, “I am excited, man. I am looking forward to it. I want to be the light heavyweight champion of the world. I got past this step. He got past his step. We will see you in November. I have been doing this for 22 years and if I am not ready to fight the best now then I will never be ready. I have been preparing for these moments since I been a kid. You got to respect Sergey for the way he has gotten to where he has gotten. He didn’t have any soft touches. He wasn’t protected. He wasn’t really pushed by the media. He is a guy who should get a lot more credit than he has. The winner of this fight could possibly be pound-for-pound #1.”

*The Ring Magazine began publishing pound-for-pound rankings in 1989.

Kovalev, the Russian Wrecking Ball, 33, has been dominating boxing’s light heavyweight division with his aggressive, fan-friendly style since his breakout performance against then-unbeaten Nathan Cleverly in 2013. His rise to boxing stardom has been meteoric, as he has gone from an unknown fighter from Chelyabinsk, Russia to headlining HBO Pay-Per-View in just four years after signing with his first promoter, Main Events. Out of of Kovalev’s 30 career victories 26 have come by way of knockout. Additionally, he has entered into championship rounds only twice in his professional career. Kovalev has always sought to test himself against the best boxing has to offer; he wants to prove in the ring that he deserves that mantle.

Ward, 32, the last American man to win an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing (2004), reigned as the WBA Super Middleweight World Champion from 2009 to 2015 while fighting mostly out of his hometown, Oakland, CA. He announced his intention to move to up to the light heavyweight division in search of a bigger challenge in 2015, shortly after signing with his current promoter, Roc Nation Sports. He has been a top rated pound-for-pound fighter since 2011. Ward is seeking to assume his place and leave a legacy at the top of the sport.

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According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the Light Heavyweight title bout between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward will be at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on November 19th and on HBO Pay Per View.

“We went back and forth with [Las] Vegas and New York for quite a while, as both venues were very enthused about hosting the event,” Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told ESPN.com. “In the end, the T-Mobile option made the most sense to us for a number of reasons, including ease of access and affordability for the media.”

In another item on the NSAC agenda for next week’s meeting: Golden Boy Promotions made a formal request for Sept. 17, the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, at the MGM Grand for Alvarez’s next fight.

Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez told ESPN.com that talks are ongoing for a fight so many are enthusiastic about: Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) taking on unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs). Many believe, though, that the fight won’t happen this fall and will be put off until next year. Regardless of the opponent, Gomez said Alvarez will fight Sept. 17.