Andre Ward vs. Alexander Brand in the works for August 6th in Oakland

Former super middleweight champion Andre Ward, who recently finalized his long-awaited deal to face Sergey Kovalev in November, has reportedly agreed to a tuneup bout against Colombia’s Alexander Brand on August 6th in "S.O.G.’s" native Oakland.

The two were originally set to fight on the undercard of Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez before Ward suffered a knee injury just over two weeks out. Each man has fought once since; Ward (29-0, 15 KO) dominated Sullivan Barrera in March, dropping him along the way, while Brand (25-1, 19 KO) got off the canvas to edge previously-unbeaten Medzhid Bekterimov in December.

The matchmaking hasn’t gotten better with age. Brand’s fought at super middleweight his entire career, turns forty next January, and his only notable fight to date was a 2012 split-decision loss to Badou Jack in which he arguably deserved the win. Even the stereotypical Colombian punching power may not be a factor, as he’s riding a two-fight decision streak and has stopped just four of his last eight opponents.

Of course, this places the fans in a dilemma: would the sheer hilarity of Brand somehow knocking Ward out and ruining so many meticulous plans outweigh the loss of Kovalev-Ward? A question for the philosophers among you.