Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward light heavyweight title fight signed for HBO PPV

LAS VEGAS - One of the best fights that can be made in boxing is finally coming to fruition.

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told Paste BN Sports on Saturday that contracts have been signed for Sergey Kovalev to defend his unified light heavyweight championship against Andre Ward in fall 2016 on HBO PPV. The deal stipulates that the fight can't take place in either Kovalev's native Russia or Ward's home state of California. The likely site is New York's Madison Square Garden or one of the Las Vegas MGM properties, per Duva.

"I think it is (the best fight to be made in the past few years)," Duva said, "and I think that's why it will be a great success."

Kovalev will first square off with Jean Pascal on Jan. 30 in a rematch of their March bout which the Russian won by eighth-round knockout. The plan is for Kovalev to return in the summer, before heading toward the bout with Ward.

Kovalev (28-0-1, 35 KOs) has yet to face anyone as good as Ward, though there aren't many such fighters on the planet. The 32-year-old's career-best victory remains a 2014 dominant decision over the legendary Bernard Hopkins, who will turn 51 in January. "Krusher" is BoxingJunkie's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and is perhaps the sport's biggest puncher.

"I respect this guy, … He's good person, commentator, very smart, knows a lot about boxing and also is great boxer," Kovalev told a small group of reporters. "But we haven't seen in a long time, his fights. I don't know how he's growing up or still in the same shape. … I'm going to beat him, sure. It's my goal, it's sport, it's boxing, and I want to get the victory over him."

Indeed, Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) has been very inactive over the past three years, with just three fights. He was embroiled in a legal dispute with promoter Dan Goossen, and finally signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports in January. The 31-year-old returned in June with a dominant victory over Paul Smith and was slated to return Saturday on the Cotto-Canelo undercard, but knee inflammation scrapped the bout.

Ward is still regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, though, and he's rated No. 4 on BoxingJunkie's pound-for-pound list. The Olympic gold medalist won Showtime's Super Six super middleweight tournament, with impressive defeats over Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch, but recently vacated his titles to move up to light heavyweight.

"I think from a technical standpoint he's going to be who he's always been," Ward told reporters Friday. "And that's good enough for him. I don't think he's seen a fight that he didn't like. He signs up and says 'let's go.' And that's a dangerous individual. But, I feel like there's purpose in this move up to 175 (pounds) and to put it as simply as I can, I just want to be great."

The Bay Area fighter recently signed a three-fight deal with HBO, with the Kovalev clash designed to be the final contest of the pact. That would allow Ward to get two mores fights in to shake off the rust, step-up his competition and get comfortable in a new weight class.

"And all the greats did what I'm doing (by moving up in weight). Bernard did it. Floyd (Mayweather) did it. Roy (Jones Jr.) did it. And it is a risk. I took that leap and the (HBO) deal that I signed is very lucrative and it's a great opportunity, but that aside, it's about cementing my legacy."

Neither boxer has headlined a pay-per-view before, but the bout looms as an historical matchup and will have about one year to build up the hype. It's a matchup between two of the best fighters in the world (possible future Hall of Famers), in their prime, fighting for supremacy in one of boxing's highest weight classes. It's a coin-flip fight, and simply put, it doesn't get much better than this.

Fall 2016 can't come soon enough, and a lot can go wrong between now and then. But if everything goes according to plan and both men stay healthy, 2016's first super fight has already been made.