Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II Coming June 17

The bad blood between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev has refused to settle since their controversial fight last November, and now it’s about to spill out as the two rivals are set for their rematch this Summer.

Last November, Ward survived a second round knockdown en route to winning a controversial decision over Kovalev in their battle for Light Heavyweight supremacy. Though a rematch clause was in their original agreement, Ward and Roc Nation Sports were seemingly backing away from a rematch as particular details had to be ironed out to their likings. This prompted a bizarre period where Ward discussed retiring as opposed to going ahead with the rematch and triggered a firestorm towards the new Light Heavyweight champion.

Kovalev has been feverishly angry since losing his titles, claiming he was robbed by American judges (although Kovalev primary competes in the United States) and has threatened to end Ward’s career when they meet in the ring again.

While the fight delivered on practically every level and the rematch is set to be more anticipated than the original, one avenue that it tremendously failed on was that HBO Boxing carried the fight as a pay-per-view that sold a humiliatingly low 160,000 buys. One would figure HBO would learn from their mistakes, but their budget will once again make sure that only the very dedicated fans will catch the fight as it once again will be a paid attraction.

The bout will take place on June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas and will be carried by HBO pay-per-view.