ANDRE WARD and Sergey Kovalev will meet in an immediate rematch on June 17 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Ward will defend the WBA, WBO and IBF world light-heavyweight titles he won from Kovalev last November on a disputed unanimous decision.
Ward took to social media to confirm the news earlier today while a source close to the fight also confirmed the rematch to Boxing News. An official announcement is expected soon while a press conference is set to take place next week.
I’m going to keep it short & sweet, you got what you asked for, now you have to see me JUNE 17. This time leave the excuses at home. #EARNEDpic.twitter.com/rw5UCjKuwo
— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) April 4, 2017
Ward rose from an early knockdown to hand the hard-hitting Russian his first professional defeat, though the decision was disputed by Sergey – as well as many observers.
After his win, Ward contemplated retirement and insisted that the only fight he was interested in was a rematch with Kovalev.
The fight will see the current pound-for-pound No 1 and 2 collide in a highly-anticipated return.
Super-bantamweight king Guillermo Rigondeaux will defend his WBA world title against Moises Flores on the undercard. The show will be promoted by Roc Nation Sports, who promote Ward, and Main Events, who handle Kovalev. HBO will broadcast the fight on pay-per-view in the US while a UK broadcaster is yet to be determined.
