Boxing: Andre Ward to Face Alexander Brand on Aug. 6 in Oakland

According to a report from ESPN.com, former super middleweight world champion Andre Ward will take on Alexander Brand on Aug. 6. The bout will take place at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Ward’s hometown, and will be televised by HBO.

Though the deal has yet to officially be signed, both sides have agreed to the terms and is expected to be finalized this week.

Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) is among the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters and already has an agreement to face world-recognized world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November in Las Vegas. But in order for that battle to unfold, both must first get through interim bouts unscathed.

Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) is slated to defend his WBA, IBF and WBO 175-pound titles on July 11 against Isaac Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs) in Russia on HBO. Kovalev’s promoter Main Events and Roc Nation Sports, which promotes Ward, agreed to the deal as long as both men were victorious in the meantime.

Ward will finally get his match with Brand (25-1, 19 KOs) out of the way. The two were supposed to lock horns with him on Nov. 21 in the co-featured bout of the huge Saul Alvarez-Miguel Cotto event but “Son of God” suffered a minor knee injury in training.