Monday, October 07, 2024  |

News

Aficianado

Sources: Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev to meet June 17 on HBO PPV

Photo by David Spagnolo / Main Events
Fighters Network
04
Apr

Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev have agreed to terms on a rematch for June 17 on HBO PPV at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, RingTV.com has learned, based on conversations with multiple sources. However, the fight will not be official until Ward signs off with a message on his various social media accounts announcing the fight, a separate source told RING. Later, on Tuesday afternoon, Ward (31-0, 15 knockouts) announced the fight on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

A press conference formally announcing the fight could take place on Monday in Manhattan. The bout is a rematch of Ward’s narrow-thin unanimous decision win on Nov. 19 by three scores of 114-113 for Kovalev’s three light heavyweight belts.

Ward spoke of possibly walking away and retiring if the terms of the second fight weren’t to his liking. Roc Nation Sports, which promotes Ward, got to call the shots in terms of how the fight is announced with Ward controlling the flow of information on his social media accounts. Kovalev promoter Main Events exercised an immediate rematch clause soon after the first fight with Kovalev adamant he won the first fight. Ward, who is No. 1 on the RING’s pound-for-pound list while Kovalev is No. 2, rose from a second-round knockdown and controlled the second-half of the fight when Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) appeared to tire. Now, the two will get to do it again in perhaps the most significant bout of 2017.