HBO Sports, known for its innovative, award-winning productions, sets the stage for the September super middleweight title fight between Andre Ward and Chad Dawson with the documentary special 24/7 ROAD TO WARD/DAWSON debuts SATURDAY, AUG. 25 (midnight-12:30 a.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO play dates: Aug. 26 (11:00 a.m.), 27 (12:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., midnight), 30 (2:45 a.m.) and 31 (7:30 p.m.), and Sept. 1 (10:30 a.m., 12:20 a.m.), 4 (1:55 a.m.), 6 (1:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) and 8 (11:15 a.m.)
HBO2 play dates: Aug. 28 (4:15 p.m.) and 30 (10:30 p.m.), and Sept. 7 (10:30 p.m.)
The special will also be available on HBO On Demand® and HBO GO®.
24/7 ROAD TO WARD/DAWSON introduces fans to two of the world’s top ten prizefighters: undefeated Oakland native Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) and New Haven, Conn. product Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs), who will meet in a 12-round title showdown, to be presented on Saturday, Sept. 8 on HBO. The 30-minute special offers an inside look at the preparations as the best fighters from 168-pound and 175-pound divisions head toward their intriguing confrontation.
“World Championship Boxing®: Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson” will be presented from the Oracle Arena in Oakland Saturday, Sept. 8 (9:45 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO.
The executive producer of 24/7 ROAD TO WARD/DAWSON is Rick Bernstein; senior producer, Dave Harmon; coordinating producer, Bentley Weiner; producer, George Jakovic; writer, Aaron Cohen. Liev Schreiber narrates.
Ricky Burns picks Josh Taylor to stike gold in London
Two-time world champion Ricky Burns has backed Scottish amateur lightweight ace Josh Taylor to strike gold in London.
Burns, the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Lightweight Champion, will be watching closely as Taylor aims to win Scotland’s first Olympic boxing gold medal since the great Dick McTaggart 56-years-ago.
Taylor, 21, is Scotland’s sole representative in the Team GB squad and starts his lightweight campaign on July 29 at the ExCeL.
Scottish hero Burns is deep in preparations for his domestic blockbuster showdown with English rival Kevin Mitchell on Saturday 22nd September at Glasgow’s SECC, but will make sure he watches Taylor in action.
“I’ll be giving Josh my full support in the biggest challenge of his life so far in the Olympics,” Said Burns.
“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far in my career in winning two world titles at two weights and there’s plenty more to come, but I turned pro when I was still young and there will always be that feeling that I missed out on the Olympics and the chance to win a gold medal and stand on the podium,”
“Josh is living the dream and I hope he does really well and comes back with the gold for Scotland, that would be amazing for Scottish sport to have the gold medalist and the world champion,”
“The lightweight division looks pretty tough with Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko who’s the top man out there, plus there’s the Italian Domenico Valentino and America’s Jose Ramirez, but Josh has got plenty of experience behind him now and he could be the surprise of the games. He’s just got to stay focused and do the business.”
Burns will also invite Taylor to be his ringside guest for his title defence against Mitchell, which will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).
He added, “It’s going to be a fantastic night in Scotland with me against Mitchell and it will be a packed out SECC on the night so it would be great opportunity for Josh to be ringside and announced to the crowd after his Olympic adventure.”
Burns v Mitchell will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546). Join now at www.boxnation.com
Tickets, priced at £50, £75, £100, £150 and £200, are available from Eventim on 0844 249 1000 or online at eventim.co.uk and Ticket Soup on 0844 295 4000 or ticketSOUP.com