Andre Ward is ready for Sergey Kovalev. The lineal super middleweight champ looked as fresh as ever on Saturday in his bout with Alexander Brand, controlling the action throughout the fight before scoring the unanimous decision victory. He is now 30-0 in his career after sweeping the judges cards 120-108 (12-0 on rounds) in the win.
With Kovalev sitting ringside, Ward treated Brand like a heavy bag, forcing him into corners, feinting his jab and setting up his over-the-top hook. Ward was the heavy favorite coming in, as high as -10,000 before the fight began.
Although he wasn't as accurate as he normally is, Ward kept his distance from Brand effectively while the underdog was, as many noted, just trying to go the distance in the bout. Just look at some of these blows.
Ironically, he won the fight in a similar fashion to how Kovalev handled his tuneup opponent Isaac Chilemba. Kovalev was less impressive in that one, but unlike Ward, Kovalev got stunned with a couple shots from Chilemba. Ward was in cruise control from the opening bell.
"I have been doing this for 22 years and if I am not ready to fight the best now then I will never be ready. I have been preparing for these moments since I been a kid. You got to respect Sergey for the way he has gotten to where he has gotten," Ward said.
"He didn't have any soft touches. He wasn't protected. He wasn't really pushed by the media. He is a guy who should get a lot more credit than he has. The winner of this fight could possibly be pound-for-pound #1."
Ward will now get his title bout with Kovalev on Nov. 19 in Las Vegas with Kovalev putting his WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight belts on the line. The two fighters will sport a combined 60-0-1 record with 41 knockouts when they finally meet in the ring this fall.
