TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION ANDRE WARD AND UNDEFEATED SULLIVAN BARRERA SET FOR LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN ON SATURDAY, MARCH 26 AT Oracle Arena OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

Telebistaz Live HBO®

NEW YORK, NY (Otsaila 9, 2016) - Roc Nation Kirol atseginez iragarriko Bi aldiz munduko txapelduna eta goi-hauek libra-libra borrokalaria Andre Ward (28-0, 15 Kos) egingo eraztuna itzultzeko on Larunbata, 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 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® hassiric 9:45 p.m. ETA/PT.

 

Sarrerak tasatuak $300, $150, $100, $50 eta $25, Ez zerbitzuen kostuei aplikagarri eta zergak barne, go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com at line eta karga telefono bidez (800) 745-3000.

 

“I don’t really have much to say other than this. March On 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,"Esan 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,", Esan du 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. 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.

 

On 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, Exekutiboa presidenteordea, HBO Kirolak. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 urte zaharra, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Orain, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.

 

Bere izaera sendoa eta osotasuna eraztunaren kanpoaldean eta bere gerlari en bere barruko sena ezaguna, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, urrezko domina batekin amaituko den heavyweight zatiketa argitan at 2004 Olinpiar Jokoak Atenasen. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Ward fitxatu Muhammad Ali gustuko, Sugar Ray Leonard eta Oscar De La Hoya. Profesionala partidua, abenduak He 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. Ring aldizkaria eta WBA Super Middleweight Munduko txapelduna bihurtu ondoren, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Urtea Saria Fighter (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Ring aldizkaria eta Boxing Idazleen Elkarteak America), iragarri zen Ward duten sustapen hitzarmen esklusiboa sinatu Roc Nation Kirol urtarrilean 2015, kapitulu berri bat irekiz bere solairu boxeo ibilbidean. Bay Area Produktua eraztuna itzuli ekainean 20, 2015 Oracle bere Oakland zale jaioterrian aurrean Arena, California duenean Paul Smith baino bederatzigarren txandan knockout bat, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Ward berriki zapaldu kamera aurrean ere guztiz desberdinak rol bat, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, Ryan Coogler zuzendaria eta filmaren protagonista Michael B. Jordan, iritsi dira Ward, beraz, bere espezializazioa ematen izan zuen filmerako. Ward kamera aurrean lan egiteaz gain, Jordan igaro denbora Ward etxeko gimnasioa prestatzeko bere Apollo Creed semea rola. 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. Amateur bat bezala, 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’sOstirala Night Borrokak, 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, gertatzen Larunbata, March 26, 2016 Oracle Oakland Arena, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. ETA/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.

 

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