By Keith Idec
Promoter Kathy Duva confirmed Monday to BoxingScene.com that, as planned, the Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward light heavyweight showdown November 19 still will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Social media speculation regarding a possible late site switch to Madison Square Garden began Saturday night, but Duva assured that terms of an agreement between her company, Main Events (Kovalev), and Roc Nation Sports (Ward) to stage Kovalev-Ward at T-Mobile Arena have been agreed upon. Minor details of the deal are expected to be finalized later Monday, at which point the companies can determine when to announce when tickets will go on sale to the public.
Duva said Madison Square Garden was explored as a potential site in May, but that she and since-departed Roc Nation Sports executive David Itskowitch closed the site deal with representatives for the new T-Mobile Arena early in June. It was contingent, of course, on Kovalev and Ward winning respective tune-up fights in July and August.
Russia’s Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) defeated South Africa’s Isaac Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 12-rounder July 11 in in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Ward’s thoroughly one-sided, 12-round, unanimous-decision win against Colombia’s Alexander Brand (25-2, 19 KOs) on Saturday night in Oakland, California, enabled Main Events and Roc Nation Sports to confirm the date of the highly anticipated fight in a press release late Saturday night.
The 32-year-old Ward (30-0, 15 KOs), of Hayward, California, will challenge for the 33-year-old Kovalev’s IBF, WBA and WBO 175-pound championships in their HBO Pay-Per-View main event.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
