Earlier this week, a deal was finally finalized for the highly anticipated rematch between IBF, WBA, WBO light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) and former title holder Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs).

The HBO Pay-Per-View rematch, which the promoters are calling “No Excuses” - will take place Saturday, June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

He quickly issued a harsh warning to Ward.

"Be ready motherf***er! I'll finish your boxing career," Kovalev stated.

The dangerous Russian puncher has not stopped there. Kovalev continued the verbal bombs with a new message - which he also posted to social media.

This time Kovalev ridiculed Andre Ward's "SOG [Son of God]" nickname.

"Hey Andre Ward , you should call yourself Andre SOK Ward. 'Son of Kovalev.' Here is a photo of you praying to your God," Kovalev stated while posting the below photo of Ward getting dropped in the first fight.

 

When the fight was finalized, Ward actually fired the first missile when he wrote a message on social media that was clearly directed to Kovalev.

“I'm going to keep it short and sweet. You got what you asked for - now you have to see me on June 17. This time...leave the excuses at home,” said Ward.

The two fighters met last November before a lively crowd at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena. Ward survived a second round knockdown to win a twelve round round unanimous decision over Kovalev to capture the three light heavyweight belts.

All three judges gave Ward the win by a single point, 114-113.

The aftermath had a lot of controversy, as fans were debating for weeks over which fighter actually deserved the decision. Kovalev was convinced that he was robbed on the official cards, while Ward felt the Russian puncher was simply being a sore loser.

There was an immediate rematch clause, which Kovalev exercised within a few days of suffering his first career defeat. After months of negotiations, the two sides were finally able to strike a deal on Tuesday.