By Keith Idec
Sergey Kovalev acknowledged on a conference call Tuesday that he has been inspired by “haters” who want to see him lose.
The unbeaten Russian knockout artist is a slight underdog a week-and-a-half before the biggest fight of his seven-year professional boxing career – a 12-round showdown with Andre Ward on November 19 in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View; $69.95 in HD).
The 33-year-old Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) will be the defending IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion in their main event at T-Mobile Arena. But the 32-year-old Ward (30-0, 15 KOs), of Hayward, California, has faced a higher level of opposition during a 12-year pro career that began after he won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
“Everybody in the world wants to see somebody kick my ass, right?,” Kovalev said. “Believe me, there are a lot of haters. A lot of haters wish for me to lose. And I hear this from some people, but it’s motivation for me. I really like to disappoint these people.”
Road to Kovalev/Ward, HBO Sports special leading up to their pay-per-view light heavyweight title showdown, debuts Saturday, November 12 at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT on HBO.
Kovalev vs. Ward takes place Saturday, November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.
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.
