Olympic Gold Medalist and Two-Time Boxing World Champion Andre Ward was on hand at Oracle Arena for the USA Basketball Showcase featuring Team USA vs. Team China on Tuesday night. Photos courtesy of Khristopher "Squint" Sandifer.
Ward cheered on fellow Roc Nation athlete and the newest Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant and Team USA as they cruised to victory by a score of 107-57. Please click here for the full
A proud Oakland native, the undefeated Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) will return to the ring on Saturday, August 6 at Oracle Arena to continue his conquest of the light heavyweight division when he takes on power-punching Columbian Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KOs). The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBrand.
Should Ward overcome the tricky and tough Brand then he is all set to take on Russian assassin Kovalev later this year in a super-fight for the WBA, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight world titles.
However, to look past Brand would be foolish, with the Bogota banger having an impressive record of 25 wins, 19 by knockout, and just a sole split decision loss to world champion Badou Jack.
Former world champion Ward is recognised as one of the finest boxers of his generation and the undefeated star will be looking to make his mark on the 175-pound division after dominating at super-middleweight.
The 32-year-old, with a record of 29 fights and 29 wins, 15 by knockout, and having beaten the likes of Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham knows he cannot takes his eyes of Brand who will be looking to cause a major upset.
“I have to focus on one guy and that’s Alexander Brand on August 6. I will not take him lightly,” said Ward. “If I’m not successful August 6, there is no fight down the road with me and Sergey Kovalev and I’m very clear about that, it’s not just a fight for me. It’s very important for me to look good in the fight, to my standard and to my team’s standard. I have a certain amount of pressure on myself to go out there, perform and hopefully, look good doing it.”
“It will be a great honour to face Andre Ward and better yet in his own backyard,” said Brand. “Fighting somebody with such an illustrious career, facing a guy that perhaps hasn't lost a round in his entire life, is even more thrilling. We were set to face each other last November, but he was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury. Now the time has come to fight him and I can't wait to derail his future plans. I'll work hard to spoil them.”
