By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward both made weight Friday afternoon for their highly anticipated light heavyweight title fight Saturday night.
Russia’s Kovalev weighed in at the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena, across Las Vegas Boulevard from T-Mobile Arena, where he and Ward will fight. Ward, of Hayward, California, also weighed exactly 175.
The 33-year-old Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), who predicted a knockout victory after weighing in, and the 32-year-old Ward (30-0, 15 KOs), a slight favorite Friday at the MGM Grand sports book, will fight for Kovalev’s IBF, WBA and WBO 175-pound titles. Their scheduled 12-rounder will headline a four-fight HBO Pay-Per-View telecast scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT. ($64.95-$69.95 in HD).
In the co-feature, light heavyweight contender Isaac Chilemba (24-4-2, 10KOs), who is trained by former four division world champion Roy Jones Jr., weighed in at at 173.75-pounds, while Olympic bronze medal winner Oleksandr Gvozdyk (11-0, 9KOs), who is trained by Robert Garcia, was 174.75-pounds.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
