The Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward fight week has finally arrived.
The matchup that is supposed to make up for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao disaster in 2015. The bout that is expected to fill the void for Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez and Gennady ?GGG? Golovkin not fighting each other in 2016. ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads
The fight that could save boxing from having its worst year in history. Oscar De La Hoya seems to think it already is, and many boxing fans feel the same.
Kovalev and Ward, two of the best pound-for-pound boxers, could change that Saturday night when they meet at T-Mobile Arena for three light heavyweight world titles on HBO pay per view.
?I feel the pressure,? Kovalev said. ?This needs to be a good fight for the fans.?
Kovalev and Ward are new to this grand stage. Both have been in big fights, but never on pay per view. This will be Ward?s first bout in Las Vegas.
They?re expected to deliver big PPV numbers for HBO. Something boxing superstars Alvarez and Pacquiao have failed to do this year.
HBO passed on televising Pacquiao?s victory against Jessie Vargas this month at the Thomas & Mack Center. The network has put all its focus on Kovalev and Ward.
Numbers are down when it comes to PPVs, but Alvarez and Pacquiao still draw a big crowd and add excitement to a Las Vegas fight week.
Alvarez brought in more than 16,000 fans for the first boxing match at T-Mobile Arena when the Mexican star knocked out Amir Khan in May. Kovalev-Ward, the second bout at the new arena, is expected to surpass those numbers.
Main Events, Kovalev?s promoter, and Roc Nation, Ward?s promoter, aren?t banking on star power to sell this fight. They?re selling competition. The No. 2 ranked boxer in the world defending his belts against the No. 4 contender.
Most boxing pundits have named Roman ?Chocolatito? Gonzalez as the No. 1 fighter since Mayweather retired more than a year ago. It?s hard to argue against the standout super flyweight with a perfect record of 46-0. But the Nicaraguan doesn?t have top-10 best pound-for-pound competition.
Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 knockouts) and Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) have a chance to settle it in the ring.
?I?m saying this based on both of our resumes, and based on the fact that we are both willing to step up and face each other at this stage of our career,? Ward said. ?We?re both 30-0 and we both have a lot to gain and a lot to lose. I think that the winner of this fight should be pound-for-pound No. 1.?
This will be only the third time since Ring Magazine started ranking fighters that two undefeated top five boxers meet in the ring.
The first time was when Julio Cesar Chavez defeated Meldrick Taylor at the old Las Vegas Hilton in 1990. The second was Felix Trinidad?s victory versus De La Hoya at the Mandalay Bay in 1999.
?That means that on (Saturday), this will be the very first time in the 21st century that such an event will occur in our sport,? Main Events promoter Kathy Duva said. ?Let?s hope this is the start of something new, a throwback to the way boxing used to be when it was at its best. Let?s hope it doesn?t take another 17 years before this happens again.?
Kovalev, 33, from Russia, has a fan-friendly style with power punches that earned him the nickname the ?Krusher.? No fighter, other than Golovkin, can say they have more power than Kovalev, who owns the 175-pound WBO/WBA/IBF belts.
Ward, 32, from Oakland, California, was expected to take over the No. 1 spot after Mayweather retired, but his promotional and injury issues have kept him out of the ring. Ward, the last American to win a gold medal, is a technician in the ring with his flawless defensive skills and ability to frustrate opponents.
?He?s not a brawler who doesn?t think, he thinks in there,? Ward said of Kovalev. ?Mentally I?m prepared for everything he brings and I?m sure he?s prepared, too.?
We?ll soon find out if boxing fans are giddy about the highly anticipated bout when Kovalev and Ward arrive at the MGM Grand main lobby on Tuesday afternoon.
