Former World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight champion Andre Ward tests the waters of the light heavyweight division starting this March when he takes on dangerous Sullivan Barrera on Mar. 26 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland California.
It will be Ward's first official match in the division, the first of his three-fight deal with HBO. The fight is considered a risky one for the American boxer who is hoping to snag a possible title-match with the "Russian Krusher" Sergey Kovalev.
Barrera is no easy foe. He is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight contender and will be looking to give Ward a pretty rude welcome into the division.
The trash-talks have started with Barrera kicking it off via social media. To cut it short, the Cuban pug is looking to knock out Ward next month.
Barrera is coming off a big win over Karo Murat back in December. It was an IBF eliminator match to determine who would face Kovalev for his IBF title.
The spotlight will be more on Ward who needs to come out and prove that he can survive in the ranks. Against Barrera, Ward faces a tested power puncher who could waylay his rise in the division.
Aside from that, there are concerns with regard to his overall conditioning. Ward has only fought three times since 2011 mainly due to contract disputes. His last opponent was Paul Smith in June of last year which he won via knockout.
Ward would have debuted in the light heavyweight class last November against Alexander Brand but was forced to pull out due to knee problems, according to ESPN.
Assuming he does get over Barrera, Ward plans to fight two more times in 2016. He plans to fight again in June and the third one will be against Kovalev likely toward the latter of 2016.
If he does fight three times this year, it will be Ward's first time to do so since 2009.
