Unbeaten unified WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) will fight Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) in a rematch of their November 2016 bout. The Ward vs. Kovalev bout will take place on June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, on HBO Pay-Per-View.
Ward and Kovalev fought to a controversial split decision in their first meeting, many ringside observers and boxing fans felt Kovalev did enough to win the bout, but Ward was given the decision becoming the unified champion at 175 pounds and maintaining his undefeated status.
Kovalev knocked down Ward and felt his pressure was enough to win, while Ward believes he adjusted and pushed the Russian slugger back and captured the majority of the later rounds to pull off the victory. Tonight both combatants are out to make a statement.
On the Ward vs. Kovalev undercard, unbeaten Cuban gold medal Olympian and WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) returns the boxing ring, and will take on fellow unbeaten fighter Moises “Chucky” Flores (25-0, 17 KOs).
Former Floyd Mayweather protege, Luis “Cuba” Arias (17-0, 8 KOs) will fight Arif Magomedov (18-1, 11 KOs) in a middleweight USBA title bout. WBA interim 175 pound champion Dmitry Bivol (10-0, 8 KOs) will put his clean record on the line against Cedric Agnew (29-2, 15 KOs).
Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2 Saturday June 17 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on HBO Pay-Per-View.
