NEW YORK, NY (Jun 28, 2016) - Roc Nation Sukan dengan sukacitanya mengumumkan bahawa Juara dunia dua kali dan bertaraf tinggi paun untuk paun pejuang Andre Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) akan kembali ke gelanggang padaSabtu, Ogos 6, to continue his conquest of the light heavyweight division when he takes on power-punching Colombian Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KOs) at Oracle Arena in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, California. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® bermula pada 10:30 petang. DAN/PT.
Ward and Brand were slated to face each other last November on the pay-per-view undercard of Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez, but a leg injury forced Ward to withdraw from participation in the event.
Tiket berharga $300, $120, $90, $60 dan $30, tidak termasuk caj perkhidmatan dan cukai, go on sale Tuesday, Jun 28 di 5:00 petang. PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, talian di Ticketmaster.com dan caj melalui telefon di (800) 745-3000.
Ward vs. Brand is a 12-round fight presented by Roc Nation Sports and sponsored by Corona Extra, the motion picture HANDS OF STONE: The True Story of Roberto Duran, Pengurusan Corporate Travel Solutions (CTMS) and The Clorox Company, supporting the Bay Area Community for over 100 tahun.
“We can get it on, sekarang,"Kata Ward. “August 6ke-, I will be ready, so come out to Oracle Arena or tune in live on HBO. Don’t miss it.”
“It will be a great honor to face Andre Ward on August 6 and better yet in his own backyard,” said Brand. “Fighting somebody with such an illustrious career, facing a guy that perhaps hasn’t lost a round in his entire life, is even more thrilling. We were set to face each other last November, but he was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury. Now the time has come to fight him and I can’t wait to derail his future plans. I’ll work hard to spoil them.”
“Andre Ward’s quest to become the best light heavyweight on the planet and boxing’s number one pound-for-pound fighter continues on Ogos 6,"Kata David Itskowitch, COO Sukan Tinju Roc Nation. “Alexander Brand has been waiting for this fight since last year and we have no doubt he is going to enter the ring hungry for a huge victory. There’s a lot on the line in this fight for Andre who knows he can’t look past Brand towards a much discussed clash with Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey Kovalev.”
“Undefeated for the last two decades, technically brilliant and the last American man to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, Andre Ward is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” said Peter Nelson, Naib Presiden Eksekutif, HBO Sukan. “On August 6ke-, Andre continues his move up in weight to campaign in the 175-pound division against challenger Alexander Brand in front a hometown crowd at the Oracle.”
Terkenal dengan wataknya kuat dan integriti di luar gelanggang dan naluri pahlawan yang sama sekali di dalamnya, 32 year-old Andre Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. Dia memerah setiap tajuk di dalam buku, culminating in a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 2004 Sukan Olimpik di Athens, Greece. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold in the past
decade, Ward menyertai orang-orang seperti Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard dan Oscar De La Hoya. Beliau menjadi profesional pada Disember 18, 2004, menjaringkan pusingan kalah mati teknikal kemenangan kedua ke atas Chris Molina di Staples Center di pergaduhan yang disiarkan secara langsung di HBO. Beliau telah pergi untuk rak 27 lebih kemenangan sejak itu, membina legion yang semakin bertambah peminat dalam proses. Selepas menjadi Ring Magazine dan WBA Super middleweight Juara Dunia, meningkat kepada tempat nombor dua dalam senarai pound-for-pound dan memenangi 2011 Pejuang Anugerah (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Majalah Ring dan Persatuan Tinju Penulis Amerika), telah diumumkan bahawa Ward menandatangani perjanjian promosi eksklusif dengan Roc Nation Sukan pada bulan Januari 2015, membuka lembaran baru dalam kerjaya tinju sejarah tersendiri beliau. Produk Bay Area kembali ke gelanggang pada Jun 20, 2015 di Arena Oracle di hadapan peminat kampung halamannya di Oakland, California dan menjaringkan kalah mati kesembilan pusingan lebih Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 12-year-old amateur. In his most recent fight on March 26, 2016, Ward made his highly publicized 175-pound debut against Cuba’s undefeated and IBF number one rated light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera in front of frenzied crowd at Oracle Arena that including luminaries such as Michael B. Jordan, Stephen Curry, Marshawn Lynch and Draymond Green. Ward expertly managed the fight and began to unravel his opponent in the third round when he caught Barrera with a counter left hook, dropping him to the canvas. The rest was a routine victory for Ward, who scored a dominating dispatch of Barrera by way of unanimous decision after 12 pusingan. Ward looks forward to a formidable challenge in Brand who is now the only obstacle in the way of his anticipated showdown against Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey Kovalev in the fall.
Bogota, Colombia native Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KOs) turned professional at the relatively late age of 32 following a long and accomplished amateur career that saw him tally over 400 kemenangan. He burst on to the professional scene in 2009, scoring knockout wins in his first 12 fights and winning 15 daripada pertamanya 17 bouts inside the distance. His first and only professional setback came via an eight-round split decision loss to current WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Badou Jack in a 2012 fight that many ringside observers thought Brand had won. Oleh kerana perjuangan yang, Jenama telah berlalu setiap ujian cincin dengan cemerlang, notching eight consecutive victories. Dalam pertarungan terakhir, Brand faced the sternest test of his career since the Jack fight when he fought a favored, undefeated and highly touted light heavyweight Medzhid Bektemirov on December 5, 2015 at Osceola Heritage Center in Kissimmee, Florida. Brand weathered an early Bektemirov blitz, including recovering from a first round knockdown, and notched a 10-round split decision victory by the scores of 98-91, 98-91 dan 94-95. Yang 39 year-old Brand, who has held several regional title including the WBC Latino Super Middleweight and the WBC Silver Interim Super Middleweight Championships, will be looking to pull off another upset on Ogos 6 and thrust himself into light heavyweight title contention.
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