Wednesday 16 November 2016 10:10, UK
Tony Bellew believes no fighter can beat Andre Ward across the super-middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions.
Having dominated the super-middleweight ranks, Californian technician Ward recently moved up to the 175lbs division and will now face the WBA Super, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev in a blockbuster clash, live on Sky Sports.
Ward beat Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Mikkel Kessler and Chad Dawson on his way to being considered one of the pound-for-pound best, and victory over the Russian powerhouse would enhance his reputation further.
Despite the showdown with 'Krusher' marking just Ward's third fight at the higher weight, Bellew believes it is has little relevance when determining the outcome of the bout.
"Andre Ward is a master technician," WBC cruiserweight world champion Bellew told Sky Sports. "No fighter from super-middle to light-heavyweight can beat him.
"His up-close game is second to none and he can negate any power puncher in the business. To get inside you have to take some stuff to get there and that's always the danger, but Ward is clever enough to get in and make you pay, like in the Carl Froch fight.
"He reminds me of Bernard Hopkins from about 15 years ago, you could call him a modern day version.
"Going up in weight is no issue either. Ward has been a huge super-middleweight for a while now and those extra few pounds he has gained have no significance.
"He's facing Kovalev next and they are both big light-heavyweights. They are very similar when considering their dimensions and size and in certain departments, Ward may even be bigger."
