By Keith Idec

If Andre Ward defeats Sullivan Barrera, the unbeaten former super middleweight champion isn’t sure if he’ll try to squeeze in another bout before fighting Sergey Kovalev.

Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) is expected to challenge Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) for the Russian knockout artist’s three light heavyweight titles sometime in the fall. First, however, Ward will battle Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) on March 26 at Oracle Arena in Oakland (HBO).

His fight against the Cuban-born Barrera will be just the third for Ward in the 3½ years since his dominant victory over Chad Dawson in September 2012. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist’s inactivity in recent years is the primary reason he’s considering fighting another opponent between the Barrera and Kovalev fights.

The 32-year-old Ward hasn’t fought since he stopped England’s Paul Smith in the ninth round of their June 20 fight in Oakland.

“I think that I’ve left that in the hands of my manager [James Prince] and my promoters [at Roc Nation Sports],” Ward said during a conference call this week. “I think that’s the plan. I’ve been entrenched in this [Barrera] fight and haven’t really talked anything past this fight because the reality is without a victory in this fight, there is no fight two, there is no Kovalev.

“So in situations like this I’ve really got to kind of put my blinders on and really silence any other distractions, and really focus on this. Because that is the reality of the situation. … After the fight, it’s something that I can sit down with the team [and talk] about it. And I believe they’ll get something worked out that everybody’s happy with.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.