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НЬЮ-ЙОРК, Нью-Йорк (Лютого 9, 2016) - Roc Nation Спорт рада повідомити, що два-чемпіон світу і топ-рейтингу фунт-для-фунта боєць Андре Уорд (28-0, 15 КО) повернеться на ринг Субота, Березня 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 КО) in a 12-round bout at Oracle Arena in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Каліфорнія. The event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing^® починаючи з 9:45 p.m. І/PT.

 

Квитки за ціною $300, $150, $100, $50 і $25, не включаючи застосовні плата за обслуговування і податки, go on sale Tuesday, Лютого. 9 на 5:00 PM PT and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, на сайті Ticketmaster.com і заряд по телефону (800) 745-3000.

 

“I don’t really have much to say other than this. Березня 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,"Сказав Уорд. “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,"Сказав Девід 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. Березня 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.

 

На Березня 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, Виконавчий віце-президент, HBO спорту. “With a perfect record dating back to the age of 12 років, Andre has risen to every challenge as both an amateur and a professional, including world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Зараз, he takes on Barrera, one of the toughest challengers as Ward moves up the scale. Boxing fans won’t want to miss it.”

 

Відомий своїм сильним характером і цілісності поза кільця і ​​інстинкт його воїна всередині нього, Ward’s skill and talent were apparent early in his outstanding amateur career. He racked up every title in the books, кульмінацією із золотою медаллю в напівважкій вазі на 2004 Олімпійські ігри в Афінах. As the only male American boxer to claim Olympic gold since 1996, Уорд приєднався подібних Мухаммеда Алі, Шугар Рей Леонард і Оскар Де Ла Хойя. Він став професіоналом у грудні 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. Ставши Ring Magazine і WBA в суперсередній вазі світу, rising to the number two spot on the pound-for-pound list and winning the 2011 Винищувач року премії (ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Ring Magazine та Асоціації боксу письменників Америки), було оголошено, що Уорд підписав ексклюзивний рекламний договір з Roc Nation спорту в січні 2015, відкриваємо нову главу в своєї спортивної кар'єри поверхового. Продукт Bay Area повернувся на ринг у червні 20, 2015 на Oracle Arena перед своїми шанувальниками рідному місті в Окленді, Каліфорнія і забив дев'ятого тур нокаутом над Paul Smith, continuing his unbeaten streak which dates back to when he was a 13-year-old amateur. Уорд недавно встала перед камерою для зовсім іншої ролі, a part in the New Line/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. feature “Creed.” Fellow Bay Area natives, директор Райан Coogler і зірка фільму Michael B. Йорданія, потягнувся до Уорд, так що він може забезпечити свій досвід для фільму. На додаток до роботи перед камерою з Уордом, Йорданія провів час у Уорда домашній спортзал в рамках підготовки до своєї ролі сина Аполлона Крида. Now it’s time for Ward to get back to his day job when he faces the undefeated Barrera on Березня 26.

 

Born in Guantanamo Bay, Куба, Barrera had an impressive amateur run with a record of 285-27. Як любитель, he was able to earn World Amateur Championships in Germany, Куба, 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, Флорида. 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’sП'ятниця Нічні бої, 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, Каліфорнія. Sullivan is trained by legendary trainer, Абель Санчес, 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, Флорида.

 

Уорд проти. Баррера, a 12-round fight which is presented by Roc Nation Sports in association with Main Events, відбувається Субота, Березня 26, 2016 на Oracle Arena в Окленді, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:45 p.m. І/PT. Follow the conversation using #WardBarrera.

 

Для отримання більш детальної інформації, будь ласка, відвідайте www.rocnation.com. Дотримуйтесь Roc Nation на Twitter і Instagramrocnation і Facebook в www.facebook.com/RocNation.

 

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