Tuesday 15 November 2016 07:13, UK
Two of boxing's pound-for-pound best will battle it out, live on Sky Sports early on Sunday morning, in one of the most highly anticipated fights in recent history.
Russian powerhouse Sergey Kovalev (30-1-0-KO26) will put his WBO, IBF and WBA Super world titles on the line against fellow unbeaten star Andre Ward (30-0-KO15) at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, in a huge light-heavyweight showdown, to be shown live and exclusive on Sky Sports.
Californian Ward - who will be making his Vegas debut against 'Krusher' - has previously dominated the super-middleweight ranks, beating the likes of Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler and Chad Dawson and has now set his sights on conquering the 175lbs division.
Despite periods of inactivity in recent years, Ward has been almost untouchable in the professional ranks owing very much to his first-class skillset and technical ability.
The 2004 Olympic gold medallist will next take on the unified king Kovalev, who picked up his first world title by blasting out Wales' Nathan Cleverly back in 2013, and has since gone on to virtually destroy everyone in his path.
The only blemish on Kovalev's record is an unwarranted second-round technical draw and in recent years he has schooled the likes of Bernard Hopkins and Isaac Chilemba and twice retired Jean Pascal among others.
The Vegas blockbuster has been dubbed a classic 'boxer v puncher' encounter with self-proclaimed 'Son of God' Ward considered the technically better of the pair, while Kovalev is the fearsome hard-hitter in an intriguing clash of styles.
Kovalev is refusing to be drawn into any pre-fight mind games with Ward ahead of their battle, saying: "I don't think or care about what he is doing, I'm only thinking about me.
"My goal is to get victory and not to think about what Andre Ward is doing. I'm just working and focusing on my body and on my shape."
Meanwhile, Ward is hoping to relish his Vegas debut, beating 'Krusher' in the process.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I want to take Kovalev places he's never been before, I don't like bullies, I don't advocate bullying and I've never been bullied, and that's not going to change in this fight.
"They are going to realise that this fight is not what they thought it would be. He's going to be taken to places he's never been before.
"When it comes to fight night, I will be in the absolute best shape of my life. It is a dream to fight in Vegas and in a fight of this magnitude - I want to show up in a big way"
