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Andre Ward and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr have both expressed interest in a potential big fight at the end of the year or perhaps in 2014, with Ward telling Jim Lampley on The Fight Game this past weekend that he feels it's a fight that can be made.
Ward (26-0, 14 KO) also believes that the fight could be a pay-per-view main event, which would be his first:
"Frankly, I think that fight can be made. I don't think that's a fight that Bob (Arum) is running from. People have to understand that Dan Goossen and my team successfully negotiated with Bob to close the Pavlik deal. That deal was signed, sealed, and delivered before I got hurt.
"I just think that's a fight with Chavez Jr that can be made the way things are right now. As long as Chavez wants it, I want it, the I'm sure HBO wants it, the fans want to see it. And those are the type of major fights, not just a premium network fight, but a major pay-per-view fight that I'm in line for, and I think Chavez wants it and everyone involved wants it."
Chavez (46-1-1, 32 KO) says that it's the sort of fight he wants, to prove he's among the sport's best:
"Ward is another Mayweather, but without the marketing. He is young, an Olympic gold medal winner, which not even Mayweather could achieve. I would fight with Ward at the end of the year or whenever. Let's see how I feel, a diet has to be done at any weight in order not to sacrifice my weight so much. [Vera is] a good choice after my inactivity [since September 2012]. If Martinez is still on the mend [from injuries], a win over Ward would place me on the list of the best. I know that many people do not think I can beat a fighter of that caliber, but I share the view that in order to be the best you have to beat the best."
Chavez is as significant a fight from a business standpoint as Ward can make at this point, as he's cleared out the super middleweight division, and there just aren't many money opportunities for him. If he wants to be on pay-per-view, too, then Chavez is the clear best option. A rematch with Carl Froch would do great business in the UK at the gate, but that's not a PPV fight in the States.