Quote Originally Posted by Master View Post
I get the feeling that Ward is not going to turn up for the Kovalev fight, hope I am wrong but if he was serious then he would have fought a better opponent to give him the confidence of beating someone like Kov.
I'm thinking the same.

Alexander Brand is nearly age 40, he's an old super-middleweight journeyman with a predictable style. Ward didn't want to fight Shabranskyy (who just wanted the same pay as Barrera received) or any other legit top ten LHW.

Crafty top ten light heavyweight Isaac Chilemba is a much better fighter than Brand (bigger and much younger too), and his defensive skills will help Kovalev prepare for Ward.