... the one thing you want to do in a final is try to avoid looking at the big screen, as the clock is never going to be your friend.I made this mistake - the scree

LAS VEGAS -- The best boxing match of the year is expected to take place tonight in Las Vegas, but theres a good chance you didnt know about it. Custom Cubs Jerseys .Theres also a decent chance you dont know much about the two fighters who make up just the 11th meeting between two of the top five fighters in Ring Magazines pound-for-pound rankings, which started in 1989.In fact, when Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) and Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) step into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the unified light heavyweight championship on the line, it will mark just the third bout over the past 25 years between a pair of top-five pound-for-pound fighters who both enter the match with undefeated records.Its the kind of main event fight with two fighters in their prime that should seep into the consciousness of mainstream sports fans more focused on college football and the NFL this time of year, but that has not been the case.Saturday marks the first pay-per-view fight for both Ward and Kovalev. It will also be Wards first fight in Las Vegas and Kovalevs third match in the fight capital of the word. As good as both fighters are, the true mark of a fighter breaking into the mainstream is becoming a pay-per-view fighter and headlining marquee cards in Las Vegas. In that sense, Saturday will be Ward and Kovalevs introduction for many casual fans who fork over money for pay-per-view fights only once or twice a year and still feel burned by the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao debacle over a year ago.But it takes time to build up the loyalty and following Mayweather and Pacquiao garnered from fight fans who dreamed of seeing both of them finally square off. It takes years of results, not weeks of promotion, to get fans to reach into their wallets and pay for a fight when theres an ample amount of other live sports on free television.Theres a storyline out there about what a shame it is that this fight isnt as big as Mayweather-Pacquiao, said Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. As I tend to do when I try and solve problems, I did some research to try and gain some perspective. Floyd Mayweather fought on HBO nine times just like Sergey, and of course the four-year period where he headlined his first HBO pay-per-view versus Arturo Gatti in June of 2005, Gatti was the big draw of that fight. Manny Pacquiao fought on HBO for two years before headlining his first HBO [pay-per-view] in January of 2005 with Eric Morales.Those events sold in hundreds of thousands of buys; it wasnt until Floyd and Manny got the opportunity to defeat the already well-established superstar Oscar De La Hoya that they reached that million-buy benchmark. They fought on parallel paths for 10 years on pay-per-view to get to the place where they arrived last year and that of course is where every fighter wants to be and that is where Kovalev and Ward want to go. And so they have to start somewhere.Ward and Kovalev have to start somewhere as pay-per-view fighters, but the same is true with attracting a mainstream audience of pay-per-view buyers, and theres a good chance most casual fight fans will take a wait-and-see approach to both fighters before shelling out $69.99 to purchase the HD telecast of Saturdays card. If it turns out to be a candidate for fight of the year, as many pundits predict, the rematch will garner more buys, and if that ones another classic with the loser of the previous match coming out on top, the rubber match in the trilogy would see both fighters not only receive a record payday but carve out their legacies.Not too many guys make it on pay-per-view; thats the goal, said Lennox Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Its a situation where people have to pay and watch you. After this fight, you dont want to do any other fights unless its pay-per-view. This is a great mark for these guys and this is the first step for them and where they want to stay. Its always important to win but they have to leave a lasting impression and make them want to come back for more.Duvas expectations for Saturday are somewhat tempered, knowing this will be the pay-per-view debut of both Ward and Kovalev and that many casual fans will likely hear about the result and watch the replay on HBO the following week before deciding if they want to invest in them moving forward.Were not going to get anybody thats never gotten a pay-per-view before, thats not happening on Saturday, Duva said. But were trying to get noticed and get that mainstream attention and you have to start somewhere. If we hit 200-250,000 [pay-per-view buys] Ill be dancing.Michael Yormark, Roc Nations president and chief of branding and strategy, understood the challenges of promoting this fight to a new audience that may be hesitant to pay to watch two fighters its not that familiar with.Andre hasnt fought out of Oakland in a while and Sergey doesnt have a big fan base that follows him and neither of them has fought on pay-per-view so there are challenges, but you have to sell the magnitude of this fight and how its perhaps the best fight on paper weve seen in 19 years, Yormark said. Im confident this fight will do better than other first-time pay-per-view fighters. When Triple G [Gennady Golovkin] was on pay-per-view last year, it did 150,000. We think this could be the biggest fight this year on pay-per-view.Chances are Saturdays fight wont be seen by many casual fans, but that doesnt mean it wont be a major turning point in the careers of two of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in boxing. Big-time pay-per-view matches between big-time pay-per-view fighters have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is Saturday night in Las Vegas for Kovalev and Ward. Craig Kimbrel Jersey . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Ron Santo Jersey Large . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-j...arge-1430n.html . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon.We won! Over two weeks on the road, two tournaments, 12 games of sevens, two different countries and finally we are heading home, but this time as winners! It has certainly been a while... we havent won a sevens tournament since Houston 2013. That probably sounds like a long time. Thats because it is.You forget about what making a final actually means. Once you have got over the heart palpitations of having to play a 20-minute final (six minutes longer than normal, which dont be fooled, is a long time), you also realise that you will get to walk out and sing your national anthem. Thats something easily taken for granted in the 15s format but a real sense of achievement and a very special moment at the end of a tournament.We knew we were onto something after Atlanta; the results, yes, but more importantly the performances and the way we were now playing the game.If you had watched us on day one in Langford, you would be forgiven for thinking Atlanta was somewhat of a fluke.Safe to say, some decent results but actually not necessarily performances we were proud of. As I said last time, sevens is a funny old game and thankfully for us, our day two performances turned out to be unbeatable. England dominated in the second half to conquer champions New Zealand 31-14 after trailing 14-7 Everyone always tries to look for patterns in good performances; how the warm-up was, were people quiet or loud, what songs were being played, what was the mood etc.If you carry on in the same vein, our key to success this tournament was all down to James Bay and coffee. Trekking our coffee machine halfway around the worl, only to find out that the voltage difference meant it wouldnt work, was as bad news to some of the girls as losing their boots would have been.After struggling with little or no coffee on day one because the tournament coffee was lukewarm and instant, day two was like Christmas when our performance manager and strength and conditioning coach wandered off to the local coffee shop. Carlos Zambrano Jersey Large. As a non-coffee drinker, the transformation was quite shocking... it was like giving oxygen to a dying flame, or heat to snow, or too much sugar to a child. We had turned from a slightly irritable dont talk to me unless you have to team into one full of life and exuberance.I am, obviously, exaggerating slightly but if thats what it takes, lets hope Rio does good coffee!The final was one hell of a game of sevens. I can happily admit that now, safe in the knowledge of the result and having recovered from what felt like my heart trying to escape my chest. Time for some team bonding after Englands Sevens triumph The first half was one of try-scoring ping pong. Theyd score then we would then they would etc... the one thing you want to do in a final is try to avoid looking at the big screen, as the clock is never going to be your friend.I made this mistake - the screen read seven minutes to go. Seven minutes to go when you are already exhausted is not what you want to see. That is the length of a normal half and I already felt like the treacle had taken hold of my legs.There comes a point in most games where you know that youve done it. Either there isnt enough time left or the score is too big; or in this game, a combination of the two.Kicking the ball off the field once the hooter had blown was such a relief... a relief for my body that is. It was also a relief that we had actually just proven what were capable of. We have now just made our lives a whole lot more difficult... backing it up.This was a long trip. Not in a bad way but two intense tournaments in as many weeks is a tough task mentally and physically. However, the most important thing is, we headed back to London carrying silverware and one happy team. Also See: SportsWomen Latest Show News Latest News SportsWomen Video ' ' '