By Steve Kim
On Monday, WBO, WBA and IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (29-0, 26KOs) faces Isaac Chilemba in Russia. Then on August 6th in Oakland, Andre Ward (29-0, 15KOs) takes on Alexander Brand. Both fights will be televised by HBO.
Both Kovalev and Ward are heavy favorites to win these fights and should this happen they are on their way to a November 19th HBO pay-per-view showdown that is one of the most anticipated fights of 2016.
Kathy Duva, the head of Main Events (which promotes Kovalev), can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"I've always seen it, I'm always the optimist here," she said a few days before she took off to Russia last week.
"It's just that we're going to go through a few nerve racking weeks because of course, this is boxing. But to tell the truth, since early this year when I sat with Lennox Lewis when Sergey was fighting (Jean Pascal), I wasn't concerned. He wants the fight, I was sure of it that night.
"And I sat with Sergey when Ward was fighting in March (versus Sullivan Barrera) and there's no doubt in my mind that both of them after seeing each other perform were convinced 100 percent they were going to beat the other."
Kovalev-Ward, which will most likely take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, pits two of the most accomplished boxers in the sport.
"It's a beautiful thing, as a promoter that's what you want," said Duva.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
