Oleksandr Gvozdyk-Isaac Chilemba bout is the most compelling on T-Mobile undercard

Oleksandr Gvozdyk had a special sparring partner to help him prepare to fight Isaac Chilemba on the Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward undercard Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Gvozdyk sparred with one of the fighters in the main event. The Ukrainian boxer worked out with Kovalev during their training camp in Oxnard, California.

“Sergey gave me good work,” Gvozdyk said. “That’s exactly what I needed to face a fighter like Chilemba.”

Kovalev defeated Chilemba by unanimous decision in July, but it wasn’t an easy fight for Kovalev.

“Chilemba is a crafty fighter,” Gvozdyk said. “He’s been in the ring with guys like Kovalev. This will help me become a better fighter.”

Gvozdyk-Chilemba is viewed as the most competitive bout on Saturday’s undercard.

Rising junior welterweight Maurice Hooker will face Darleys Perez in the co-main event. Hooker is a talented prospect from Dallas, and Perez is a former lightweight champion from Colombia.

Curtis Stevens faces James de la Rosa in a middleweight bout to open the HBO pay-per-view card.

On the free-view portion of the card, Claressa Shields makes her debut against Franchon Crews. Shields is a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist.

“Everyone needs to watch my fight,” Shields said. “I’m an exciting fighter, and I’m ready to fight the best.”

CHAVEZ ROOTING FOR KOVALEV

Julio Cesar Chavez can relate to the pressure Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward are feeling.

The Mexican legend battled Meldrick Taylor for pound-for-pound supremacy in 1990 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Chavez defeated Taylor in one of the most memorable fights in history.

Chavez is a Kovalev fan because he resembles the former Mexican brawler.

“Kovalev has come a long way,” Chavez said in Spanish. “He used to fight robotic and only had the right hand. Now he can give you the left hand to set up the power right.”

Chavez called Ward a dirty, boring fighter, but he appreciates his elite skills.

“You don’t want to give Ward space because he’ll pick you apart,” Chavez said. “Kovalev needs to jump on him early and hit his body from inside.”

‘BLEED FOR THIS’

Former world champion Vinny Pazienza got emotional after a screening of his biopic “Bleed For This” on Thursday at the Palms.

“I’ve seen this five times, and it gets to me every time,” Pazienza said.

It’s rare when Pazienza shows emotion. He was known as the tough guy who never backed down from a fight regardless of the odds. But Pazienza’s biggest fight was overcoming a serious neck injury after a car crash in the early 1990s.

Miles Teller plays Pazienza in the biopic, which focuses on the boxer’s recovery from the crash.

“Miles was Paz-tastic in the movie,” Pazienza said. “This movie was amazing. It really captured what I went through.”

Pazienza won world titles at junior welterweight, junior middleweight and super middleweight.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.