Sergey wants revenge for his fallen comrade, Evgeny Makarenko (Olympian and two-time amateur world champion), who lost to Ward in the quarterfinals on points at the 2004 Olympics. Ward is the last male gold medalist Team USA had at the Games.
Did you guys see the footage where Alexander Brand was sucking up to Kovalev right after the fight with Ward? He said that Ward has no power and that he's picking Sergey to beat him by KO. Sergey was polite and very respectful when talking about Andre as usual. He dismissed that talk from Brand and complimented Ward on how smart of a boxer he is.