Andre Ward knows Sergey Kovalev better than anyone inside the boxing ring.
Ward and Kovalev put on two thrilling fights in November 2016 and June 2017 with Ward winning a narrow unanimous decision and by eighth-round TKO, respectively. So, who better to break down Kovalev's upcoming WBO title defense on Saturday against Anthony Yarde at Traktor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia?
When Ward factors everything both guys bring to the table, he feels his former opponent gets the job done.
"I'm a fan of working your way up slowly and at the right time making the step up," Ward told BT Sport. "I'm not sure he’s fought the necessary guys to prepare him for Sergey Kovalev, and I think Kovalev is going to stop him late."
Yarde (18-0, 17 KOs) has finished all but one fight, but he hasn't faced someone like Kovalev (33-3, 30 KOs), who is a former unified champion and has taken on the likes of Ward, Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal (twice).
Boxing pundits felt Kovalev was starting to slip after his losses to Ward and his stunning stoppage loss to Eleider Alvarez last August. Ward called the Alvarez-Kovalev rematch in February and came away very impressed by Kovalev's dominant performance as he regained the WBO belt. He feels Yarde and his team are leaning on Kovalev's battles with Ward and the fight with Alvarez as indicators that the 36-year-old has seen better days.
"I liked what I saw in Kovalev's last fight," Ward said. "The Kovalev fight is going to be harder than they realize."
Ward likes what he sees on the surface of Yarde. But he just isn't convinced Yarde's team has gotten him ready to take on a guy whose been on top of the 175-pound division for the last six years.
"At the highest level it doesn't matter how well you do mitt work, or how big your muscles are, you have to show that you can fight, that you can take it and dish it too, that you've got the conditioning and the IQ," Ward said. "Your coaches have got to show they can perform under pressure too; there will be a lot of pressure in Russia. I'm the guy who shows a crack in the door for a person to show up and be great, but I'm not a fan of a guy facing C-level guys and making a name of himself then jumping to an A-minus guy."