Ward vs Kovalev II, more: Boxing fight times and TV schedule for June 17

Saturday, June 17

BoxNation (UK), 2:00 pm ET, Paddy Barnes vs Silvio Olteanu. Barnes is fighting for just the third time as a pro, but headlining in Belfast against Olteanu, a journeyman veteran, with the vacant WBO European flyweight title on the line. Craig Evans vs Stephen Ormond and Jono Carroll vs John Quigley will also feature on the card.

HBO PPV, 9:00 pm ET, Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev, Guillermo Rigondeaux vs Moises Flores, Luis Arias vs Arif Magomedov, Dmitry Bivol vs Cedric Agnew. The first fight was razor thin, arguments to be made for both Ward, the winner, and Kovalev, who thinks he won. Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev are well-matched, elite-level fighters who have different styles and advantages, and exploitable weaknesses against one another. This isn’t a PAY-PER-VIEW MEGAFIGHT!! in that it’s not going to sell a million or anything close to it, but this is as high a level as boxing gets today. It was the first time, it will be again. The undercard is fine, given expectations — Rigondeaux is facing a legitimate challenger, even if he likely will outclass Flores, Arias-Magomedov is well-matched, and Bivol is a prospect you want to see. BLH will have live coverage.

CBS Sports Network, 10:00 pm ET, Nico Hernandez vs Jose Rodriguez. Hernandez’s second pro fight, as he looks to make a name for himself and become a draw at home in Kansas.

ESPN2, 11:00 pm ET, Fidel Maldonado Jr vs Pablo Cesar Cano. Pretty standard Golden Boy on ESPN stuff. The series has been exactly what we expected.