Andre Ward dominates Alexander Brand, Sergey Kovalev next in November
His tuneup complete after dominating Alexander Brand on Saturday night, Andre Ward can now set his sights on the biggest prize in the light heavyweight division, Sergey Kovalev.
After going the full 12 rounds against Brand at Oracle Arena in his hometown of Oakland, Calif., Ward, the undefeated former Olympic gold medalist and No. 4 in the Paste BN Sports/Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound rankings, said he would officially meet the champion Kovalev, No. 3 pound-for-pound, on Nov. 19 on HBO pay-per-view. Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) watched the fight from ringside.
The site has not been officially announced, but it's believed to be the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
While Ward (30-0, 15 KOs), a 100-1 favorite, dominated the 39-year-old Brand (25-2, 18 KOs), he struggled at times with Brand's awkwardness. He used a stiff jab early to cut Brand over the right eye, but was never able to knock the fighter down or out.
In the 5th round, Ward switched from orthodox to southpaw stance and landed several straight lefts following hard right hands to the body.
Brand landed few shots and the Colombian's awkward style made it a rather ugly fight. Ward outlanded Brand 190-45 in overall punches, and 69-8 with his jabs. Still, Brand would not go down despite taking several left hooks to the head and body.
"We knew this guy was going to be really, really hard to knock out, he's a veteran," Ward said. "People got to realize that when a guy with his experience doesn't want to get knocked out, it's hard. He's throwing punches from crazy angles, he's got nothing to lose.
"I tried to press it, but it's good to get the rounds."
Ward's domination was proved as he won by scores of 120-108 on all three judges' scorecards. That's all 12 rounds scored for Ward.
Ward said he was excited and looking forward to meeting Kovalev.
"I want to be light-heavyweight champion of the world," he said. "I had to get past this step. He got past his step, so, I'll see you in November."
Asked if he was ready for Kovalev, Ward said, "I've been doing this 22 years, and if I'm not ready to fight the best now, I'll never be."
Kovalev, who defeated Isaac Chilemba in Russia last month, came into the ring after the fight for the announcement of the Nov. 19 bout, said he's ready, too, and said of Ward: "He's a very great champion, and he proved his greatness it today,"
Ward earned $850,000 for Saturday's fight, while Brand was paid just $30,000.
Franco KOs Gallardo: On the undercard, featherweight prospect Daniel "Twitch" Franco improved to 14-0-3 (8 KOs) with a dominating performance over Marcello Gallardo (7-4-2, 3 KOs).
Franco dropped Gallardo in the opening moments of the first round with a blistering right hand, and followed up over the next four rounds with a full arsenal of power shots to the head and body.
Sending Gallardo to the canvas again in the fifth round, Franco earned the stoppage at the 2:16 mark of the round.
(Photo of Ward, left, against Brand by Eric Risberg, AP)