In the lead up to Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the undercard will round out a 10-bout card filled with some of the best young boxing prospects.
Opening the card will be middleweight Meiirim “Sultan”Nursultanov of Merki, Kazakhstan, making his pro debut. Nursultanov, now residing in Oxnard, CA, is managed by Egis Klimas, and recently signed by Main Events. He will be taking on Henry Beckford (4-5, 1 KO) of Hempstead, NY, in a six-round bout.
Bakhram Murtazaliev (6-0, 4 KO’s) of Grozny, Russia and close friend of Kovalev is coming off a second round knockout over Magomedkamil Musaev. He will be featured in an eight-round middleweight bout against Botirsher Obidov (6-0-1, 2 KO’s) of Anijan, Uzbekistan. This will be his first fight outside of his homeland of Russia.
Opening up the freeview telecast, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, will be an eight-round junior welterweight bout featuring the undefeated Sonny “Pretty Boi” Fredrickson (14-0, 9KO’s) of Toledo, OH, who is coming off of an a slugfest with Puerto Rican veteran Ramesis Gil. Fredrickson will take on Gabriel Deluc (11-1, 2 KO’s) of Boston, MA, in an eight-round showdown.
The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel.
Another Toledo native, Tyler “Golden Child” McCreary (11-0, 6 KO’s), who is coming off a unanimous decision win, will go toe-to-toe with Vincent “Pooh Bear” Jennings (5-2-1, 4 KO’s), of Grand Rapids, MI, in an eight-round featherweight bout. Jennings is determined to get his record back on track, but he will face his toughest test to date in McCreary.
In the spotlight fight on the freeview telecast, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016) Claressa “T-Rex” Shields of Flint, MI, will make her pro debut. Shields is set to face decorated fellow American Franchon “The Heavy Hitting Diva” Crews in a four-round middleweight bout, with each round timed at two-minutes. This will not be the first time the two have faced off. In their first matchup, Shields upset Crews, the top-ranked American women middleweight, during the 2012 Olympic Trials, the first U.S. team trials for women’s boxing. Crews will also be making her pro debut.
Just before going live on HBO Pay-Per-View, there will be a four-round heavyweight bout featuring undefeated prospect Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock (5-0, 4 KO’s) of the fighting city of Philadelphia. Rock recently scored a technical knockout victory in the third round on Oct. 22 and is wasting no time getting back into the ring. Facing off with Rock will be Brice Ritani-Coe (4-4-1, 3 KO’s). The Vegas resident, originally of San Pedro, CA, will be on the hunt for his fourth knockout.
Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux and Zappos. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.
Fans can catch the freeview telecast beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, and to be announced cable, satellite, and telco channels. The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel.
