In what could be a fight-of-the-year candidate, current WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev will defend his titles against former super middleweight titlist Andre Ward in a matchup of undefeated fighters Saturday in Las Vegas.
Kovalev (30-0-1) is third and Ward (30-0) is fifth in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. Kovalev is No. 2 and Ward is No. 3 behind Adonis Stevenson in the ESPN light heavyweight rankings.
Stats & Information previews the scheduled 12-round fight.
Another title defense for Kovalev
Kovalev, 33, will make the ninth defense of his WBO light heavyweight title, which he won in August 2013, and the fifth defense of his WBA and IBF titles, which he won from Bernard Hopkins in November 2014. Kovalev’s eight title defenses are the third-most among current champions.
This is the seventh fight in boxing history in which two undefeated fighters with 30 or more wins will fight for a world title. It will be the third such fight this year, following Gennady Golovkin’s win over Kell Brook and Román González’s win over Carlos Cuadras in September.
Kovalev, born in Russia, is third in the fewest opponent punches landed (7.3), according to CompuBox. Ward ranks seventh at 8.6 per round. The weight-class average is 16.1.
In nine world title fights, Kovalev is 9-0, with seven knockouts. He has knocked out 12 of his last 14 opponents and 26 of his career 31 opponents.
Though known for his knockout ability, Kovalev is actually one of the better jabbers, according to CompuBox numbers. He ranks ninth in jabs landed per round among CompuBox-qualified fighters. His ability to pressure his opponents on offense contributes to his defense, as he absorbs the third-fewest punches per round for any fighter.
In 12-round fights, only two of Kovalev’s 11 opponents have lasted all 12: Hopkins and Isaac Chilemba. Kovalev won both fights by unanimous decision. Kovalev’s 31 fights have lasted an average of 3.7 rounds.
Ward has Olympic pedigree
Ward, 32, is the most recent U.S. male boxer to win gold at the Olympics and was WBA super middleweight champion from 2009 to 2013 before he vacated the title to move up to light heavyweight. This will be Ward’s third fight at light heavyweight as he attempts to become the seventh man to win titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight, joining boxers such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roy Jones Jr.
After defeating Carl Froch to unify two super middleweight titles in 2011, Ward’s activity was limited for nearly five years due to injuries and contract disputes. He fought three times from 2012 to 2015 before moving up to the light heavyweight division. This will be Ward’s third fight in 2016 (all at light heavyweight).
Fifteen of Ward’s 30 victories have been by knockout. He is 7-0 (one knockout) in world title fights. His 30 professional fights have lasted an average of 7.3 rounds, although both of his light heavyweight fights have gone 12.
Ward won the gold medal at light heavyweight in the 2004 Olympics. Named the 2011 fighter of the year by ESPN, the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring, he is first in CompuBox’s plus-minus rankings at plus-15.9 (plus-minus is defined as a boxer’s connect percentage minus his opponents’ connect percentage).
