Andre Ward: Sergey Kovalev won't be an easy fight

Now that Andre Ward has inked a deal with HBO that lines him up for a showdown with Sergey Kovalev next year, he's come out to publicly talk about his move up to the light heavyweight division. Ward has a chat with FightHype to discuss what he thinks about moving up a division as well as the prospects of him taking on one of the most dangerous punchers in the entire sport.

"I'm not ducking nothing and never have. At the end of the day, there's no way I'ma come to Kovalev's neighborhood at 175 and at some point not knock on his door and want to play. So that's just that," Ward told FightHype.

"Kovalev is the real deal and I appreciate the way he's gone about it. He's fought the best competition that he can fight. He's not only fought the best competition, but he went to their backyard to do it, so you gotta respect a guy who does that," Ward explained during a recent conversation with FightHype.com. "We're coming up to 175 knowing that Kovalev is the top dog. I respect Kovalev and at some point, we're going to bump heads. I think he's an all-around good fighter. He seems to be a hard hitter, and not only that, but he's skillful, so that won't be an easy fight."

Ward taking on Kovalev, in a bout that is expected to take place next fall, is really a great fight for both men. Sure, it's not going to have the fanfare of Mayweather-Pacquiao or anything, but it does pit two of the very best operators in the sport against one another in a pick 'em fight. In the short term, Ward will have a couple of interim fights at light heavyweight to get adjusted to the new division, shake off some ring rust, and to cash some checks before going against his most dangerous opponent in recent memory.