LIVE gebeeldsend HBO®
NEW YORK, NY (Februarie 9, 2016) - Roc Nasie Sport is bly om aan te kondig dat twee keer wêreldkampioen en top-gegradeerde pond-vir-pond vegter Andre Ward (28-0, 15 Uitklophoue) sal terugkeer na die ring Saterdag, Maart 26, to begin his assault on the light heavyweight division when he takes on undefeated and number one rated IBF light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 Uitklophoue) in a 12-round bout at Oracle Arena in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Kalifornië. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® begin by 9:45 namiddag. EN/PT.
Kaartjies kos $300, $150, $100, $50 en $25, nie, insluitend toepassing diensgelde en belasting, go on sale Tuesday, Februarie. 9 by 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, aanlyn by Ticketmaster.com en beheer per telefoon by (800) 745-3000.
“I don’t really have much to say other than this. Maart 26, it will be very simple. I’ll be in a new weight class against a tough opponent but I’m coming with the same approach,"Sê Ward. “I’ll be in great shape and ready for battle. Sullivan Barrera has had a lot to say lately and I love it. He’s going to have an opportunity to back up every word that he has spoken. These are the type of challenges I like and on March 26, it’s go time.”
“We as a team had a tough choice to make – crash the party by taking out Ward first or wait for the mandatory and take out Kovalev,” said Barrera. “We decided that the time is now. Ward will fall first and then we will go after the belts.”
“Having cleaned out the super middleweight division, Andre’s next challenge is to become the best light heavyweight in the world, and that challenge begins with the IBF’s number one rated contender in Sullivan Barrera,"Sê David Itskowitch, COO of Boxing Roc Nation Sports. “With both fighters having their sights set on an eventually showdown with Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey Kovalev, there’s a lot on the line in this fight, but only one man will move on. Maart 26 is a night of boxing that no fan should miss.”
“I’m excited to be on Team Ward as we enter the light heavyweight division. No weapons formed against us shall prosper,” said James Prince, Ward’s manager.
Op Maart 26, before a hometown crowd, pound for pound star Andre Ward returns to HBO in his light heavyweight debut against undefeated Sullivan Barrera” said Peter Nelson, Uitvoerende vise-president, HBO Sport. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 jaar oud, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Nou, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”
Bekend vir sy sterk karakter en integriteit buite die ring en instink sy vegter daarin, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, kulmineer met 'n goue medalje in die lig swaargewig-afdeling by die 2004 Olimpiese Spele in Athene. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Ward by die hou van Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard en Oscar De La Hoya. Hy het professionele Desember 18, 2004, scoring a second round technical knockout victory over Chris Molina at Staples Center in a fight that was televised live on HBO. He has gone on to rack up 27 more victories since then, building an ever-growing legion of fans in the process. Nadat die Ring Magazine en WBA Middelgewig Super World Champion, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Vegter van die Jaar-toekenning (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Ring Magazine en die boks Skrywers Vereniging van Amerika), is aangekondig dat Ward in Januarie 'n eksklusiewe promosie ooreenkoms onderteken met Roc Nasie Sport 2015, opening van 'n nuwe hoofstuk in sy boeiende boks loopbaan. Die Bay Area produk terug na die ring op Junie 20, 2015 by die Oracle Arena in die voorkant van sy tuisdorp ondersteuners in Oakland, Kalifornië en behaal 'n negende ronde knockout oor Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward onlangs uitgetree in die voorkant van die kamera vir 'n heeltemal ander rol, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, direkteur Ryan Coogler en die film se ster Michael B. Jordan, bereik uit na Ward sodat hy sy kundigheid kan voorsiening te maak vir die film. In bykomend tot die werk in die voorkant van die kamera met Ward, Jordan tyd spandeer by Ward se huis gym in voorbereiding vir sy rol as Apollo Creed se seun. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on Maart 26.
Born in Guantanamo Bay, Kuba, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. As 'n amateur, he was able to earn World Amateur Championships in Germany, Kuba, Venezuela and Central America. During his amateur career he also defeated former Light Heavyweight World Champions Chad Dawson and Beibut Shumenov. Following his defection from Cuba, where he was a member of the country’s national team, Barrera made his professional debut in 2009 with a first round technical knockout win over Anthony Adorno in his adopted hometown of Miami, Florida. He would go on to knockout the first five opponents he faced in his professional career in either the first or second round. Barrera made his television debut in January of 2015 with his appearance on ESPN’sVrydag Nag Fights, when he scored a fourth round knockout win over former Super Middleweight World Champion Jeff Lacy. Barrera quietly rose through the ratings of the light heavyweight division until he was afforded the opportunity to fight former Light Heavyweight World Title Challenger Karo Murat to become the IBF’s number one rated light heavyweight contender. Barrera seized the opportunity, knocking out Murat in the fifth round on December 12, 2015 in his HBO Latino Boxing debut at the Civic Auditorium in Glendale, Kalifornië. Sullivan is trained by legendary trainer, Abel Sanchez, who is best known for his work with middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. When he is not at The Summit in Big Bear Lake, California training with Sanchez, Barrera resides in Miami, Florida.
Ward vs. Barrera, a 12-round fight which is presented by Roc Nation Sports in association with Main Events, plaasvind Saterdag, Maart 26, 2016 by Oracle Arena in Oakland, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 namiddag. EN/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.
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