Andre Ward (28-0 - 15 KOs) vs. Sullivan Barrera (17-0 - 12 KOs)
Class: Light heavyweight (175 lbs.)
Channel: HBO
Time: 9:45 eastern (Ward is expected to fight around 11 p.m. eastern)
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Undercard highlight:
Joseph Diaz Jr. (19-0 - 11 KOs) vs. Jayson Velez (23-1-1 - 16 KOs) -- Featherweight (126 lbs.)
Preview: With Floyd Mayweather retired, there's plenty of debate over who the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world is. Andre Ward was once part of that conversation, but after a long spell of inaction, he has to re-establish himself as one of the planet's best.
Ward is moving up to light heavyweight for this fight -- his first in the class -- with unbeaten Cuban Sullivan Barrera.
This fight is considered a tune-up for an inevitable Ward showdown with unifed light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, but Barrera isn't a push-over. He's larger, longer, and still largely unknown as a fighter.
Ward is considered a -750 favorite (lines from -600 to -1100 have been seen as well.)
