By Victor Salazar 

New York, New York - The last time Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KO's) was involved in a fight where he was not a heavy favorite was when he faced off against the legend that is Bernard Hopkins.

Although Hopkins was closer to 50 on fight night, he had shown in the past that he was still capable of schooling younger fighters who didn't have a high ring IQ. But Kovalev didn't let the older man breath by virtually shutting out Hopkins and even dropping the veteran, who has a well-known sturdy chin.

Two years later, he will find himself in a true pick em' fight against Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KO's), who has a resume that speaks for itself. Many in the industry compare Ward to a younger Hopkins. Kovalev however will not look in the past when it comes to Andre Ward.

"I already forget that I had fights against Bernard Hopkins," Kovalev told BoxingScene.com "I'm looking forward to the future. I must beat the boxer in front of me it's a big test for me. I'm ready for Andre Ward like I was ready for Bernard Hopkins."

Kovalev has great respect for Ward the fighter, but felt a little spurned when he tried to say hello to Ward and received no reply from the challenger - which the champion claims took place right before the start of their press conference in New York to announce their showdown on November 19th from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

"I respect him as a fighter and a person but I didn't like our confrontation this morning," Kovalev said.

"He's a great fighter but I will show him no respect inside the ropes. When i saw him this morning and I said 'hi,' [and] he didn't say nothing - so f*** him. I will do all I can in the ring to kick his ass in November."

Kovalev is not even concerned with the power of Ward at 175.

"I don't think he has the power of a light heavyweight. If you have a power, you have power. If you don't you don't. He might be smarter from fighting in a heavier weight. I don't think he has power moving up in weight," Kovalev said.