Tuesday 11 April 2017 10:11, UK
Andre Ward insists there is "nothing scary" about Sergey Kovalev ahead of their rematch in Las Vegas.
'S.O.G' (31-0-KO15) beat the Russian via unanimous decision, live on Sky Sports, in November to become the unified light-heavyweight champion, and feels he has the psychological advantage going into their rematch at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, on June 17.
"They have to understand, there's nothing scary about this man," Ward said.
"The reality is, you've (Kovalev) got to see me on June 17. That's the reality of the situation. I love to talk, it's all good. We knocked heads for 12 rounds, that's the reality of the situation. He felt me, he knows."
Kovalev (31-1-1-KO26) lost his unbeaten record to Ward, but did register a knockdown in the second round of their initial meeting.
But the unbeaten American says he is drawing too much confidence from it and sees the second fight as one of the most defining moments of his own career.
"Everyone wants to highlight the knockdown, but that's probably one of the most beautiful moments of my career," Ward said.
"And did you guys see the other 10 rounds? Nobody's talking about that. But that's what makes us who we are.
"It's hard concrete down there, we don't want to fall. We've got another drive, we've got another gear we've got to tap into when we hit adversity and hit the cannons. You guys saw that, in the biggest moment of my career."
