Andre Ward Set for Potential Cotto/Canelo Undercard Appearance?

By Olly Campbell - 08/26/2015 - Comments

It will certainly make a change from fighting in his Oakland backyard, but WBA (sup) 168 lb champion Andre Ward, last seen bloodying Britain’s Paul Smith in June, could be set to make an appearance on the Cotto/Canelo undercard in Las Vegas according to his promoters Roc Nation Sports.

The firm, which also handles WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, is keen on placing Ward, who is seemingly inching up to the 175lb division, in a showcase bout on the November 21st HBO PPV bill, and are hoping to have a decision finalised within a fortnight.

“We think it would be good for him, a showcase pay-per-view. It could be good for the pay-per-view and he showed interest in being on the undercard,” Michael Yorkmark, CEO of Roc Nation, told ESPN Deportes.

While there is no word of any kind of opponent for the November date, it’s highly unlikely that a fight with Sergey Kovalev will happen at least until mid-2016 according to Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva, who is planning on taking her man to Russia to fight in Moscow right around the same time as the November 21st date.

With June’s one-sided Smith fight his first in 19 months and many other options at 175lb tied up with Al Haymon’s PBC and Showtime, it’s unclear who of any relevance Ward could fight, although a clash with Bernard Hopkins, who insists he will fight on at 50, doesn’t seem so far fetched when you consider his proximity to the card through co-promoters Golden Boy.

At the moment, it’s anybody’s guess.

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