Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev Fight Rematch Date, Location Reportedly Revealed

Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev have reportedly agreed to a rematch June 17 in Las Vegas. Ward won the first meeting between the light heavyweight boxers by unanimous decision in November.

Mitchell Abramson of RingTV.com first reported Tuesday's news. Chris Mannix of The Vertical confirmed the details for the second encounter.

Mannix also provided further background information about the fight:

Ward moved to 31-0 with his previous victory over Kovalev at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The triumph made him the WBA Super World, IBF World and WBO World light heavyweight champion.

Their title matchup was a lot closer than the unanimous decision may suggest. Kovalev came out strong and dictated the pace early on. Only a late surge by the 33-year-old American allowed him to edge out a narrow victory, 114-113 on all three scorecards.

Afterward, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times passed along comments from Ward about his reputation and the comeback win.

"Sometimes you get touted as a cute boxer or, 'He's slick,' but I know what I have inside me," he said. "Sometimes when something like that happens, the masses get a chance to say, 'OK, maybe he does have heart, maybe he is more than a boxer.' But I've always known what I have in me."

Kovalev felt the location may have played a role in the judges' verdict, per Gareth A. Davies and Chris Graham of The Telegraph:

"

It's the wrong decision. But I don't want to give my opinion. Everybody is here, witnesses are here, everybody saw what happened. He got maybe a few rounds. But not the whole fight. I kept control. I lost maybe three rounds.

I'm a guest here in the USA and he's a local, and all the judges are from the USA. I agree they support their boxer but honestly, this is sport. Don't make it like politics.

"

The 34-year-old Russian, who owns 26 knockouts in his 30 wins, will hope to leave no doubt when they face off again in June.