Andre "S.O.G." Ward is set to return to the ring on June 20 for the first time since a November 2013 victory over Edwin Rodriguez. He will be fighting little-known Paul Smith on a card televised on BET, but bigger fights are cooking.
Ward's handlers at Roc Nation Sports may be putting together a major bout vs. light heavyweight champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev, and the jump in weight for Ward may not be as significant as it appears.
Ward is facing Smith at a 172-pound catch weight, four pounds more than his usual 168-pound super middleweight limit. After such a long layoff-and a lengthy run of dominance in that weight class-Ward may consider a full-time leap to light heavyweight if he handles the catch weight well.
Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events, told On The Ropes that she hopes to make the "mega fight" happen in the near future. Kovalev has long called for an anticipated unification bout vs. WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, but his partnership with adviser Al Haymon has made negotiations all but impossible.
They were on a collision course before Stevenson jumped to Haymon, presumably to set up a fight vs. Bernard Hopkins instead of Kovalev. Hopkins surprised them and fought Kovalev anyway, and Stevenson's momentum has waned while Kovalev's popularity has exploded.
Ward's drawing power to this point is far outpaced by his skills, but pairing him with Kovalev is something that Duva believes will draw a wide audience.
"Yes that is the mega fight. You have Andre Ward, who if he moves up to 175 pounds will immediately be put near the top of the 175-pound rankings, he is already in the top pound for pound rankings in the world," Duva said.
"Sergey Kovalev is in the Top 10 pound for pound rankings, most people's Top 5. If you have two fighters in the Top 5 pound for pound fighting each other that's a big deal."
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