FERNSEHEN live auf HBO ®
NEW YORK, NY (Februar 9, 2016) - Roc Nation Sports freut sich bekanntzugeben, dass zwei Mal Weltmeister und erstklassigen Pound-for-Pound Kämpfer Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) wird in den Ring zurückzukehren Samstag, März 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, Kalifornien. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginnend an 9:45 p.m. UND/PT.
Tickets zum Preis von $300, $150, $100, $50 und $25, nicht einschließlich anwendbarer Steuern und Abgaben, go on sale Tuesday, Februar. 9 bei 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, online Ticketmaster.com und kostenlos per Telefon an (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,", Sagte 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,", Sagte 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. März 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.
Auf März 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 President, HBO Sports. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 Jahre alt, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Jetzt, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”
Bekannt für seinen starken Charakter und Integrität außerhalb des Rings und Instinkt seines Krieger im Inneren, Wards Können und Talent zeigten sich schon früh in seiner herausragenden Amateurkarriere. Er sammelte jeden Titel in den Büchern, die ihren Höhepunkt mit einer Goldmedaille im Halbschwergewicht bei der 2004 Olympischen Spiele in Athen. Als einziger männlicher amerikanischer Boxer, der seitdem olympisches Gold gewann 1996, Ward trat die Gleichen von Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard und Oscar De La Hoya. Er wandte sich professionell am Dezember 18, 2004, In einem Kampf, der live auf HBO übertragen wurde, erzielte er im Staples Center einen technischen Ko-Sieg in der zweiten Runde gegen Chris Molina. Er hat weitergemacht 27 mehr Siege seitdem, Aufbau einer ständig wachsenden Legion von Fans in diesem Prozess. Nachdem er den Ring Magazine und WBA-Super-Mittelgewicht-Weltmeister, Aufstieg auf Platz zwei der Pfund-für-Pfund-Liste und Gewinn der 2011 Fighter of the Year Award (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Ring Magazine und der Boxing Writers Association of America), wurde bekannt, dass Ward unterzeichnet eine exklusive Werbe-Vertrag mit Roc Nation Sports im Januar 2015, ein neues Kapitel in seiner legendären Box-Karriere. Die Bay Area Produkt wieder in den Ring am Juni 20, 2015 in der Oracle Arena vor seiner Heimatstadt Fans in Oakland, Kalifornien und erzielte einen neunten Runde KO über Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward kürzlich vor der Kamera trat für eine völlig andere Rolle, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, Regisseur Ryan Coogler und der Star des Films Michael B. Jordan, aus, um Ward erreicht, so dass er sein Know-how für den Film liefern. Zusätzlich zum Arbeiten in vor der Kamera mit Ward, Jordan verbrachte Zeit bei Wards Haus Fitnessstudio in der Vorbereitung für seine Rolle als Apollo Creed Sohn. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on März 26.
Born in Guantanamo Bay, Kuba, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. Als 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’sFreitag Night 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, Kalifornien. 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, findet statt Samstag, März 26, 2016 auf Oracle Arena in Oakland, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. UND/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.
Weitere Informationen, besuchen Sie bitte www.rocnation.com. Folgen Sie Roc Nation auf Twitter und Instagramrocnation und auf Facebook unter www.facebook.com/RocNation.
Weitere Informationen, Besuch www.hbo.com/boxing, follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.