By Edward Chaykovsky

Tough super middleweight contender Paul Smith was the comeback opponent for Andre Ward back in June. Ward, coming back from a long layoff, dominated and stopped Smith at a catch-weight of 172-pounds.

Smith would like to see Ward make a full move to 175-pounds and face WBO/WBA/IBF champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25KOs).

The fight has been debated just as much as the possibility of middleweight king Gennady Golovkin moving up to 168-pounds to challenge Ward.

There have been preliminary discussions between Roc Nation, who promote Ward, and Main Events, who handle Kovalev. The two sides are in agreement that a fight between their boxers will happen - it's just a matter of when.

Smith sees Ward as the second best fighter in the world, in terms of his skill level, and says he is fully capable of outboxing Koavlev with ease - but there is always the danger of Kovalev changing the entire fight with a single big punch.

If they ever step in the ring, Smith predicts Ward will win a twelve round decision - and a very wide one.

"This is one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing. Anyone who knows their boxing will know how good these two are. People know what Kovalev can do, and the record that Ward has. Kovalev is great to watch but I think Ward is the better fighter. Ward is one of the best in the world at any weight and I’m not just saying that because I boxed him. I rate Ward just slightly behind Floyd Mayweather. The record he’s got speaks for itself," Smith told Sky Sports News.

"Someone with Ward’s trickiness is what you need to beat Kovalev. If you’re going to stand there with a basic, orthodox style Kovalev will tag you. It needs someone slick and slippery who can negate what Kovalev does. Ward is the best at shutting his opponent down and stopping whatever they want to do. He’s proved that by beating Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and all the top super-middleweights."

"I knew how good Ward was even before I fought him. He wasn’t a puncher, but he’s brilliant at guiding you off balance with his hands and arms. That takes experience and years of drills. I won’t discount Kovalev because he can flatten Ward – he can land one shot on the chin and put him away. Ward can be hurt – I remember thinking I’d hurt him if I caught him clean but I never managed it. But if Kovalev nails you, you stay nailed! It’s the logical step for Ward to take. Kovalev is the best light-heavyweight, he’s better than Adonis Stevenson."

"I actually thought Nathan Cleverly would beat Kovalev because he has such a good chin. But Kovalev just took him out, which surprised me, and he’s improved a lot since. If I had to pick a winner, I'd sway towards Ward out-boxing him and winning by a wide margin on points. But if Kovalev nails him…"