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.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. Dan Majerle Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Jared Dudley Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapsunsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-shaquille-harrison-jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Tyler Ulis Jersey . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Grant Hill Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Backup safety Robert Blanton got in the first shove on Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett before the game even began.The rest of the Bills defense then took turns getting its licks in on New Englands interim starter following kickoff in keying a 16-0 win on Sunday.All it took for Brissett to get Buffalos attention was jogging through the Bills pregame warmups.It actually crunk us up, Bills cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said. We came out there with some fire, and it was like, `Nah, we aint going to let nobody disrespect us no matter where were at.Brissett was sacked three times, lost a fumble and oversaw a Patriots offense that was shut out for the first time at home since 1993. The loss came during the rookies second career start in place of backup Jimmy Garoppolo, whos sidelined by a shoulder injury, and with starter Tom Brady serving the fourth and final game of his Deflategate suspension.New England dropped to 3-1. Buffalo (2-2) has won two straight and won at New England for just the second time in 16 trips.The latest bad blood between AFC East Division rivals began about an hour before kickoff, when several punches were thrown during an on-field altercation.Blanton accused Brissett and Patriots rookie receiver Maclolm Mitchell of twice running through their drills.After warning them the first time, Blanton ran at Brissett and gave him a big shove to the chest the second time he came through. Brissett didnt stop, but Mitchell retaliated by shoving Blanton. Blanton responded by punching Mitchell in the chest and head-butting him, which led to several other playeers and assistant coaches getting involved.ddddddddddddI think that was pretty disrespectful, said Blanton, noting someone could have gotten hurt during a collision.Bills linebacker Zach Brown was fired up once he heard what happened.When I got out, they told me about it and Im like, `Man, you didnt invite me to the party? Brown said. I was ready for him. I dont like them. Respect was left on the bus when it comes to them. That had me going.Brown had a sack and forced a fumble by drilling Brissett in the chest. The ball popped loose and was recovered by linebacker Preston Brown to end the Patriots drive at Buffalos 8.Hes a third-string quarterback, so for us, it was, `Weve got to make him look like a third-string quarterback, Zach Brown said.Mission accomplished.New England was limited to two first downs and 98 yards net offense in the first half.Overall, the Patriots had just four drives cross midfield. They ended with Brissetts fumble, Stephen Gostkowski missing a 48-yard field-goal attempt wide right, turning the ball over on downs and the final whistle.Brissett was dismissive when asked about the scuffle.I dont even remember it, he said.Patriots receiver Julian Edelman declined to discuss what happened.Its not something Im here to talk about, Edelman said.Bills coach Rex Ryan couldnt resist taking a verbal shot at the Patriots.They probably werent as disciplined as they should be, Ryan said.---AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '