No one will ever mistake Isaac Chilemba for former super middleweight kingpin Andre Ward.

But Sergey Kovalev, on the heels of a tougher-than-expected win against Isaac Chilemba on Monday, said the rugged South African was chosen by his promoter Main Events because of his defensive likeness to Ward, who is signed to face Kovalev on Nov. 19 in an HBO PPV super fight.

“My promoter and manager chose a fighter that is similar to Andre Ward’s style, so that I will be prepared for the fight with Ward,” Kovalev said after his unanimous decision victory. At first, Kovalev didn’t see the similarities.

But as the fight wore on, he got the message. “When they told me that my opponent will be Chilemba because his style is similar to Andre Ward’s style, I was thinking to myself what’s so similar to his style?” he said. “Their height is different, so at first I didn’t see much, but after the fight I realize that, in fact, he does have similar style to Andre Ward’s: Waiting out and counter-attacks, he is not going in much, he waits in defense and waits for the right moment.”

At the same time, Kovalev acknowledged that comparing Chilemba to Ward was like comparing the family Volvo to a sleek sports car. “Andre Ward’s got different timing, he’s faster with his legs,” Kovalev said. “He’s not only good in defense but also he can attack. He has some defensive tricks. If saying in an advanced way, his defense is more modernized. He can feel his competitor better, he’s got better reaction.”

Kovalev made an interesting remark on what it will feel like to face Ward and the mental stress he puts on opponents because of his vast accomplishments and undefeated record. “He also has good experience,” he said. “After all, he is an Olympic champion. The last American [male] champion at the Olympics. Moreover, he is undefeated. This adds a kind of psychological pressure. He is the best in all the categories. But talking of power he is not a crusher. We have two different styles. So that is the difference between them. They are counterpunchers.”

Kovalev looked tired in the later rounds on Monday, and he disclosed after the fight he got sick in training, which he withheld so as not to alert Chilemba’s side of a possible weakness. “There were obviously some moments during the training with regards to my health, because I got a cold and I didn’t say anything, so the information wouldn’t get to Chilemba, that it might work against me,” he said. “So myself and my trainer worked hard to overcome this stage and prepared for the fight.”

Kovalev said that training camp didn’t always go swimmingly, without elaborating on what the shortcomings were. “There were mistakes during the camp, you can’t do everything perfect,” he said. “And when you meet these difficulties you gain experience. What doesn’t break us makes us stronger.”