By Igor Lazorin, tass

To prepare for an Olympic gold medal winner, Sergey Kovalev enlisted the services of another Olympic gold medal winner.

WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is helping Kovalev prepare for the upcoming defense of the IBF/WBO/WBA world titles against Andre Ward - scheduled for November 19th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. HBO Pay-Per-View will carry the contest.

Usyk's camp members have confirmed that he is helping Kovalev get ready and the two boxers have sparred together. While they are represented by different promotional companies and come from rival Eastern European countries, they share the same manger in Egis Klimas.

Usyk himself is preparing for his United States debut on December 17th, when he defends his title for the first time against Thabiso Mchunu as part of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith undercard from The Forum in Los Angeles, California.

Ward (30-0, 15KOs) will be stepping in the ring as a light heavyweight for the third time, after making his debut in the weight division in March with a decision victory over unbeaten Cuban Sullivan Barrera. He then dominated Alexander Brand in August. Kovalev (30-0, 26KOs) also took part in two contests in 2016, with a stoppage of Jean Pascal in their January rematch and then a tough July win over Isaac Chilemba.

The winner of Ward vs. Kovalev will be viewed by many experts as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He will also have a strong case to become the 'Fighter of The Year' for 2016.