Televised NYOB RAU HBO®
TSHIAB YORK, NY (Lub ob hlis ntuj 9, 2016) - Roc teb chaws kev ua si yog txaus siab ncha moo tias Ob-Lub sij hawm ntiaj teb tau zus ib thiab nyob saum phaus-rau-phaus fighter Andre Ward (28-0, 15 Kos) yuav rov qab mus rau lub nplhaib rau Saturday, Lub peb hlis ntuj 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, California. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® pib thaum 9:45 p.m. THIAB/PT.
Daim pib luv nqi thaum $300, $150, $100, $50 thiab $25, tsis xws li siv cov kev pab cuam nqi thiab se, go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 9 ntawm 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, nyob hauv internet ntawm Ticketmaster.com thiab xwb los ntawm xov tooj ntawm (800) 745-3000.
“I don’t really have much to say other than this. Rau Lub peb hlis ntuj 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,"Hais tias 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,"Hais tias 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. Lub peb hlis ntuj 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.
Rau Lub peb hlis ntuj 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, Executive Vice Thawj Tswj Hwm, HBO kev ua si. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 xyoo, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Tam sim no, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”
Paub txog nws tus ua cim muaj zog thiab kev ncaj ncees nyob sab nraum lub nplhaib thiab nws warrior tus xav hauv nws, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, culminating nrog ib tug kub puav pheej nyob rau hauv lub teeb heavyweight faib nyob rau 2004 Olympic ua si nyob rau hauv Athens. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Ward koom cov yam koj nyiam ntawm Muhammad Ali, Qab Zib Ray Leonard thiab Oscar tsib La Hoya. Nws muab kev rau hlis ntuj nqeg 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. Tom qab ua lub nplhaib Magazine thiab WBA Super Middleweight ntiaj teb tau zus, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Fighter ntawm lub xyoo puav pheej (ESPN, Cov kev ua si taw qhia, Nplhaib Magazine thiab cov Boxing Writers Association of America), nws tau tshaj tawm tias Ward kos npe ib tug tsuas yog promotional ntawv cog lus nrog Roc teb chaws kev ua si nyob rau hauv Lub ib hlis ntuj 2015, qhib ib tug tshiab tshooj nyob rau hauv nws storied boxing hauj lwm. Lub Bay Area khoom xa rov qab mus rau lub nplhaib rau Lub rau hli ntuj 20, 2015 nyob rau Oracle Arena nyob rau hauv pem hauv ntej ntawm nws hometown cov kiv cua nyob rau hauv Oakland, California thiab tau qhab nia ib tug cuaj-round knockout tshaj Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward nyuam qhuav mus kiag rau hauv pem hauv ntej ntawm lub koob yees duab rau ib tug txawv kiag li lub luag hauj lwm, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, tus thawj coj Ryan Coogler thiab cov zaj duab xis lub hnub qub Michael B. Jordan, hu tawm mus rau Ward li tias nws yuav muab nws kev txawj ntse rau cov zaj duab xis. Nyob rau hauv tas li ntawd mus ua hauj lwm nyob rau hauv pem hauv ntej ntawm lub koob yees duab nrog Ward, Jordan siv sij hawm nyob rau Ward lub tsev gym nyob rau hauv kev npaj rau nws lub luag hauj lwm raws li Apollo Creed tus tub. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on Lub peb hlis ntuj 26.
Born in Guantanamo Bay, Teb chaws Cuba, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. Raws li ib tug pib xyaum ua, he was able to earn World Amateur Championships in Germany, Teb chaws Cuba, 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’sFriday Hmo ntuj 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, California. 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, yuav siv sij hawm qhov chaw Saturday, Lub peb hlis ntuj 26, 2016 ntawm Oracle Arena nyob rau hauv Oakland, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. THIAB/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.
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