By Edward Chaykovsky
Former super middleweight king Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) is not concerned with any of the accomplishments of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs). And Ward doesn't care about his feared power, either.
Ward will challenge Kovalev for the WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight championships on Saturday, November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
This will be Ward's third fight in the light heavyweight division after dominating Sullivan Barrera in March and then banking a one-sided decision over Alexander Brand in August.
Kovalev's power is feared in the sport and he's regarded as one of the hard punchers in the game, pound for pound. Ward is not paying attention to any of the stories connected to Kovalev's power or any of his past knockout victories.
“There are always different game plans, nuances, different things you’re working on but I respect every fight that I fight. I don’t get caught up in the whole puncher thing, anybody can get you out of there if you get hit right. I don’t think I’d be sitting here in this position right now if I hadn’t had these highs and lows. We’ve got to find a way to get it done, and we’re going to find a way to get it done. I don’t care what he’s got in his gloves, who he’s knocked out or what he’s done. My job is to get my hand raised, and that’s what we’re focused on," Ward said.
Ward is not overlooking the unified champion in any way, shape or form. He is coming in the ring with the outlook of their contest being an even 50-50 fight.
“I feel that this fight with Kovalev is 50-50. That’s how I approach all of my big fights. I don’t go into the fight thinking, ‘I’ve got a clear-cut advantage here’ or ‘I’ve got to run through this guy.’ Personally, for me, I can’t roll like that. I’ve got to keep myself honest, stay on my grind, keep my head down and force myself to keep working. I truly believe Kovalev is everything they say he is, and I’m everything that I’ve shown over the years," Ward said.
