Uživo prenosilo ON HBO®
NEW YORK, Njujork (Februar 9, 2016) - Roc Nation Sports je sa zadovoljstvom objavljuje da je dva puta svjetski prvak i najbolje ocenili funti-za-pound borac Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) će se vratiti u ring na Subota, Mart 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 KOs) in a 12-round bout at Oracle Arena in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Kalifornija. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® sa početkom u 9:45 poslije podne. I/PT.
Ulaznice po cijeni od $300, $150, $100, $50 i $25, ne uključujući primjenjivo naknada za uslugu i poreza, go on sale Tuesday, Februar. 9 u 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, online na Ticketmaster.com i naknade na broj telefona (800) 745-3000.
“I don’t really have much to say other than this. On March 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,", Rekao je 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,", Rekao je 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. Mart 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.
Na Mart 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, Izvršni potpredsjednik, HBO Sports. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 godina star, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Sada, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”
Poznat po svojim jak karakter i integritet izvan ringa i instinkt njegove ratnika unutra, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, kulminiralo sa zlatnu medalju u poluteškoj podjela na 2004 Olimpijske igre u Ateni. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Ward pridružio poput Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard i Oscar De la Hoya. Okrenuo profesionalac na dan 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. Nakon što je postao Ring Magazine i WBA Super Svjetskog prvaka u srednjoj, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Borac Year Award (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Ring Magazine i Udruženja Boxing Writers of America), najavljeno je da Ward potpisali su ekskluzivni ugovor s Roc Nation promotivne Sport u siječnju 2015, otvara novo poglavlje u svojoj katom boks karijeru. Bay Area proizvodu koji se vraća u ring juna 20, 2015 u Oracle Areni pred rodnom gradu fanova u Oakland, Kaliforniji i postigao devetom kolu nokaut nad Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward je nedavno stao pred kamere za potpuno drugačiju ulogu, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, direktor Ryan Coogler i zvijezda filma Michael B. Jordan, doprla do Ward kako bi mogao pružiti njegove stručnosti za film. Osim rada u ispred kamere sa Ward, Jordan je proveo vrijeme Ward kući teretana u pripremi za ulogu Apollo Creed sina. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on Mart 26.
Born in Guantanamo Bay, Kuba, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. Kao amater, 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’sPetak Noć Borbe, 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, Kalifornija. 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, odvija Subota, Mart 26, 2016 u Oracle Areni u Oaklandu, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 poslije podne. I/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.
Za više informacija, posjetite www.rocnation.com. Pratite Roc Nation na Twitteru i Instagramrocnation i na Facebook-u www.facebook.com/RocNation.
Za više informacija, posjeta www.hbo.com/boxing, follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.