Ward keeping focus on Brand as fall showdown looms

Take a look at Andre Ward’s path as he returns to boxing’s best. (0:46)

Dan Rafael
ESPN Senior Writer

On July 11, unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev dropped contender Isaac Chilemba in the seventh round en route to a unanimous decision win in his homecoming defense in Russia. Kovalev retained his title for the eighth time and took care of the business necessary to punch his way into a huge fall fight.

Now it is Andre Ward’s turn to do the same.

Andre Ward-Alexander Brand
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
When: Saturday
TV: HBO, 10:15 p.m. ET/PT
Ward, the former super middleweight world champion, must defeat gargantuan underdog Alexander Brand in their 12-round light heavyweight fight on Saturday night (HBO, 10:15 ET/PT) at Oracle Arena in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, California, to preserve the long-awaited showdown with Kovalev.

The fight was signed months ago but is contingent on each fighter getting through interim bouts, mainly because Ward was shaking off a lengthy layoff and also wanted a couple of fights to get used to fighting at 175 pounds after a career spent boxing at 168. But if Ward wins, the big one is on. It will headline an HBO PPV card on Nov. 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But first things first, as far as Ward is concerned.

“Sergey Kovalev is not on my mind at all,” Ward said. “I’ve got a job to do. I haven’t even talked about Kovalev. We can talk about Kovalev on [Sunday]. That’s what I told my team.”
A victory in his tuneup bout on Saturday would lift unbeaten Andre Ward into a fall pay-per-view showdown against Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas. Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports
Ward claims he did not even take a peek at Kovalev’s fight against Chilemba last month.

“I didn’t watch his last fight,” Ward said. “He’s not my next opponent, but I know what happened and what people are saying about it. It is obviously the end game and what we’re trying to get but I didn’t watch it. I have to compartmentalize what I have to do right now.

“That’s just kind of how I operate and how I stay focused. I don’t want to juggle two opponents right now. I have to focus on one guy and that’s Alexander Brand. I will not take him lightly. If I’m not successful [on Saturday], there is no fight down the road with me and Kovalev.”

The 32-year-old Ward (29-0, 15 KO) doesn’t want to just beat Brand, either. He wants to make a statement ahead of the showdown with Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), the fearsome Russian puncher, = a fight that could propel the winner to the top of the pound-for-pound list.

“It’s very important for me to look good (against Brand), to my standard and to my team’s standard,” said Ward, who won Olympic gold in 2004 and is the last American man to do so in boxing. “I have a certain amount of pressure on myself to go out there, perform and, hopefully, look good doing it. So my team has looked at [Kovalev-Chilemba]. They are doing their due diligence but, no, I personally have not looked at it.”

“I didn’t watch [Sergey Kovalev’s] last fight. He’s not my next opponent, but I know what happened and what people are saying about it. It is obviously the end game and what we’re trying to get but I didn’t watch it. I have to compartmentalize what I have to do right now.”
Andre Ward on Saturday’s tuneup bout against Alexander Brand
Ward was supposed to face Brand last November on the Canelo Alvarez-Miguel Cotto undercard, but Ward withdrew because of a knee injury. When he made his 175-pound debut on March 26, he easily outpointed former Cuban amateur star Sullivan Barrera.

With Ward wanting another tuneup fight before facing Kovalev, Brand (25-1, 19 KOs), the fourth choice, got the call again when other matches did not work out, including proposed fights with unbeaten Long Island brawler Seanie Monaghan, former light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly of Wales and unbeaten Swedish fighter Erik Skoglund.

But when Brand was tapped, he was happy to accept the fight as he did for the November bout that was scratched.

“It has been a long road for Alexander Brand,” said Alex Camponovo, Brand’s manager. “He has worked very hard to get where he is today. This is a great opponent, one of the greatest of all time in Andre Ward. We know that this champion probably has never lost a round inside the ring, and that is what Brand is here to do, to prove himself and to show that if you try and work hard, you can go very far.”

Most view Brand, however, as having virtually no chance against the gifted Ward. Brand is 39 years old, fought more than 400 amateur fights and did not turn pro until he was 32 — and got knocked down in his last fight in December.

His record is also bereft of any meaningful opponents except Badou Jack, who defeated him by eight-round split decision in 2012 and went on to win a super middleweight world title in 2015. But Brand said he is confident — although what else is he supposed to say?
Alexander Brand, 39, enters Saturday’s light heavyweight bout as a considerable underdog against unbeaten Andre Ward. Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports
“It’s a privilege to fight one of the best, if not the best,” Brand said. “I don’t know if I will come out attacking or if I will counter more. It depends on how Ward will be fighting. But I will be ready. I will capitalize on his mistakes and make him pay.

“I’m here to put on the best show possible on television and in the arena. This is going to be my toughest test to date and what could be better than try to beat Andre in his backyard?”

That is one of the reasons Ward said he refuses to take the man lightly.
“I want to be the lightweight champion of the world, a two-division champion,” Ward said. “Everyone knows that, but it’s impossible for me to overlook this man. I’m not built like that. I wasn’t raised like that. I wasn’t groomed like that. I don’t operate like that. This man is coming. This is his Super Bowl. Because this is his Super Bowl, it has to be my Super Bowl. He has got everything to gain and nothing to lose. He swings for the fences with every punch. He’s a dangerous guy to fight.”

Ward added: “I have not given myself any time to think about Kovalev. I have plenty of time to get ready for Kovalev. That is where you have slip-ups. That is where you have upsets. That is where you have bad performances, when you start to look ahead and you say, ‘I am not looking ahead,’ but then mentally, you are. So I just try to block it out. I’m really good at doing that. Come [Sunday], I will begin to think about Sergey Kovalev and what needs to be done to beat him and to get those belts.”

But not if Brand, as unlikely as it may be, has his way.

“Ward still has 12 rounds to fight before he can think about Kovalev,” Brand said. “I’m here to ruin his party.”