Sergey Kovalev on Andre Ward: ‘I don’t know if I can beat him’

Reporting from Las Vegas — Unbeaten light-heavyweight boxing champion Sergey Kovalev has returned to the gym in preparation for an interim summer fight before the most significant bout of his career, a fall showdown against unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Andre Ward.

“I don’t know if I can beat him,” Kovalev said in a remarkable bit of honesty considering the bravado often found in boxing. “But I want to fight him. It’s a huge test for me.”

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While details of his next fight remain unsettled, the plan is for a late-June date, prompting Kovalev to return to the gym this week.

“I am back,” Kovalev said Saturday in an interview with The Times and Ring magazine.

Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 knockouts) is seeking a summer interim bout in his native Russia, saying his promoter, Kathy Duva, and manager, Egis Klimas, are aiming for a fight date of June 18 or June 25, with negotiations ongoing at multiple sites, including arenas in Moscow and Sochi.

“It’s good for me, for Russian boxing fans and lots of fans in Europe who want to see my fights live and have found it hard to get to,” in the U.S. or Canada, Kovalev said.

Klimas said the talks need to be done “like yesterday,” adding that if the site and opponent aren’t finalized in two weeks, the fight date would move to July.

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Ward is also looking to stay sharp with a summer fight near his Oakland base.

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter: @latimespugmire

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