By Edward Chaykovsky

CEO Kathy Duva of Main Events, who promote IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24KOs), feels very good about the possibility of a 2016 showdown taking place with Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward (27-0, 14KOs).

Ward is returning on June 20th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The fight will be his first since a win over Edwin Rodriguez in November of 2013. Now with a new promoter, Roc Nation Sports, Ward will step into the ring against British contender Paul Smith.

Ward's return is taking place at a catch-weight of 172-pounds. He's dominated the 168-pound division for several years. There is a good possibility, based on his performance next Saturday night, that he makes the full jump to light heavyweight.

And if he makes that jump to 175, a fight with Kovalev is waiting and Duva has already spoken with Roc Nation about the fight.

"Yes, that is the mega fight. You have Andre Ward, who if he moves up to 175 pounds, he will immediately be put near the top of the 175 pound rankings, he is already in the top pound for pound rankings in the world. Sergey Kovalev is in the top ten pound for pound rankings, most people’s top five. If you have two fighters in the top five pound for pound fighting each other, that’s a big fight, it’s a big deal," Duva told On The Ropes Boxing Radio .

"I expect that fight is probably going to happen. I’ve already had conversations with his promoter and they told me that one of their options was to have a fight with Sergey Kovalev next year. I’m happy to see Andre Ward’s next fight is at 172 pounds, let’s hope he makes his way up to 175."