ANDRE WARD is not trying to hide his ambition of becoming light-heavyweight champion of the world by beating division kingpin Sergey Kovalev, though refutes claims he is overlooking Alexander Brand.
The unbeaten American faces Brand at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Saturday (August 6) and a win would set up a fight with WBA, WBO and IBF champion Kovalev on November 19.
However Ward understands he cannot view his fight with heavy underdog Brand as having a foregone conclusion.
“I’m excited about the future. I want to be the light-heavyweight champion of the world, a two division champion,” he said.
“Everyone knows that, but it’s impossible for me to overlook this man [Brand]. I’m not built like that. I wasn’t raised like that. I wasn’t groomed like that. As a young fighter, I don’t operate like that. This man is coming, this is his super bowl. Because this is his super bowl, it has to be my super bowl. My ribs are showing, I’m hungry.”
Brand, 39, has boxed his entire career as a super-middleweight and has expressed his intent of scuppering Ward’s plans of fighting Kovalev.
However he has also been deeply respectful of the pound-for-pound stalwart.
“It’s a pleasure for me to be in this wonderful city,” he said.
“All I want to do is give a good show and make sure that I give that to my fans here in Oakland. I want to have a good fight and work hard. It’s really a true honor to be in the ring with a champion like Andre Ward.”
