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NEW YORK, NY (February 9, 2016) - Roc Nation Sports amasangalala kulengeza kuti Two-Time World Ngwazi ndi pamwamba oveteredwa mapaundi chifukwa mapaundi womenya Andre Ward (28-0, 15 Ko) adzabwerera kwa mphete Loweruka, March 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 Ko) 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® kuyambira 9:45 p.m. AND/PT.
Matikiti wogulira pa $300, $150, $100, $50 ndipo $25, osati kuphatikizapo ntchito utumiki milanduyo misonkho, go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 9 pa 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, pa Webusaiti Ticketmaster.com ndi kuyang'anira telefoni pa (800) 745-3000.
“I don’t really have much to say other than this. Pa 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,"Anati 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,"Davide anati 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. March 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.
Pa March 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 wachiwiri kwa Pulezidenti, HBO Sports. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 zaka, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Tsopano, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”
Amadziwika kuti anali wolimba mtima ndi kukhulupirika kunja mphete ndi wankhondo wa nzeru zachibadwa mkati, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, n'kufika ndi golide Mendulo m'kuunika katswiri woposa onse Chigawo pa 2004 Olympic Games ku Athens. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Ward anagwirizana amakonda wa Muhammad Ali, Shuga Ray Leonard ndi Oscar De La Hoya. Iye anatembenuka katswiri pa December 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. Atakhala mphete Magazine ndi WBA Super Middleweight World Ngwazi, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Womenya pa Chaka linapereka (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Mphete Magazine ndi nkhonya Olemba Association of America), analengeza kuti Ward anasaina yekha zotsatsira mgwirizano ndi Roc Nation Sports mu January 2015, kutsegula latsopano mutu wake storied nkhonya ntchito. The Bay Area mankhwala anabwerera mphete pa June 20, 2015 pa Oracle chi kutsogolo kwawo mafani Oakland, California ndipo yagoletsa ndi chinayi chonse knockout pa Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward posachedwapa analowa patsogolo pa kamera kwa chosiyana udindo, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, mkulu Ryan Coogler ndi filimu a nyenyezi Michael B. Jordan, anayetsetsa Ward kuti athe luso lake kwa filimuyi. Kuonjezera patsogolo pa kamera ndi Ward, Jordan akhala ndzidzi Ward kunyumba masewero olimbitsa pokonzekera udindo wake monga Apollo Creed mwana. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on March 26.
Born in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. Monga ankachita masewera, he was able to earn World Amateur Championships in Germany, 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 Night Kumenyana, 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 motsutsana. Barrera, a 12-round fight which is presented by Roc Nation Sports in association with Main Events, chikuchitika Loweruka, March 26, 2016 pa Oracle chi mu Oakland, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. AND/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.
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