Former WBA (sup) 168 lb champion, Andre Ward, has warned any fans still clinging to the prospect of a fight between him and dominant middleweight champion, Gennady Golovkin, to forget about it, and that his proposed eventual meeting with 175 lb champion, Sergey Kovalev, will present the far tougher challenge in any case.
Ward, set for an official debut at 175 lbs as the first of a three-fight deal with HBO that will culminate in a fight with the Russian ‘Krusher’ next Autumn/Fall, is likely to debut at his new weight in February after pulling out of the recent Cotto/Canelo card through injury.
For the former Olympic gold medalist, it’s all about looking forward, and Golovkin simply doesn’t feature in those plans.
“I was willing to fight [Golovkin] anywhere, anytime,” Ward said of the avoided Kazakh to assembled media recently. “I can show you the texts between my people and his people. He just doesn’t want to fight me. Period.
“He can come up with any excuse he wants to, but the fact is that the fans will never get to see this fight and it would have been a great one.”
Speaking about the prospect of a fight with WBO/WBA/IBF 175 lb boss, Kovalev, Ward was clear that he sees that fight as both the more difficult, and the more credible option for him in any event.
“He’s bigger, stronger and, in my opinion, a better fighter [than GGG]. I think if you look at their résumés, there is no comparison between Kovalev’s résumé and Golovkin’s. There’s just not.”
“He’ll fight. It’s already signed for next fall,” Kovalev said separately to media of the Ward clash. “He’s an Olympic champion, the last American champion, a really smart, technical fighter.
“It won’t be an easy fight.”
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