Steven Ward (born 18 April 1990) is an Irish former professional boxer. He held the WBO European light-heavyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, Ward won the silver medal in the heavyweight category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Career After an amateur career which included winning the heavyweight division silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and three Ulster senior titles, Ward turned professional in August 2016. He made his pro-debut on 5 November that year at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast, defeating Merdjidin Yuseinov on points over four rounds.
With a perfect record of seven wins from seven contests, Ward claimed his first professional title by beating Steve Collins Jr. on points for the vacant BUI Celtic light-heavyweight championship at Windsor Park in Belfast on 18 August 2018.
He faced Liam Conroy for the vacant WBO European light-heavyweight title at Ulster Hall in Belfast on 21 June 2019. The bout was halted in the eighth round because of a cut he sustained during an accidental clash of heads. At that stage, all three ringside judges' scorecards had Ward ahead 76–75, meaning he won the contest via unanimous technical decision.
Ward made the first defense of his title against Ričards Bolotņiks at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England, on 14 December 2019, in a fight which doubled as a quarter-final in the Golden Contract tournament run by MTK Global. He was knocked to the canvas three times in the opening round before the referee stopped the bout, handing his opponent a technical knockout victory.
On 16 January 2021, Ward faced 2018 World's Strongest Man and Game of Thrones star, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, in a three-round exhibition match at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai. The contest was declared a draw.
Switching up in weight categories to cruiserweight, he fought Kamshybek Kunkabayev for the vacant WBA Gold title at CSKA Sport Complex in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 11 December 2021. Ward suffered a severe cut caused by what the referee ruled to be an accidental elbow from his opponent which forced the fight to be ended in round seven. He lost via unanimous technical decision as all three judges had Kunkabayev 70–62 in the lead at the time of the stoppage.
A more than two-year hiatus from the competitive boxing ring followed, before Ward returned to action on 30 March 2024, recording a points win over six rounds against Perry Howe at Ulster Hall in Belfast.
On 19 July 2024, he faced Juergen Uldedaj for the vacant IBF International cruiserweight title at Motorspace Dubai Investments Park in Dubai, taking the fight at two weeks notice after Uldedaj's original opponent, Claudio Squeo, withdrew due to injury. Ward lost by stoppage in the fifth round.
He got back to winning ways in his next outing, stopping Tommy McCarthy in the sixth of their scheduled 10-round contest at the SSE Arena in Belfast on 1 March 2025.
Ward faced Mike Perez for the vacant WBA Intercontinental cruiserweight title at Portman Road in Ipswich, England, on 7 June 2025. He was sent to the canvas twice in the eighth round and again in the ninth, at which point his corner threw in the towel to end the fight.
Ward announced his retirement from professional boxing on 23 June 2025.
Personal life Ward founded and runs Fight2Thrive, an organisation aimed at helping young people in Northern Ireland to improve their mental and physical fitness.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes19Loss15–4Mike PerezTKO9 (10), 7 Jun 202518Win15–3Tommy McCarthyTKO6 (10), 1 Mar 202517Loss14–3Juergen UldedajTKO5 (10), 19 Jul 202416Win14–2Perry HowePTS630 Mar 202415Loss13–2Kamshybek KunkabayevTD7 (10), 11 Dec 202114Win13–1Jone VolauPTS630 Sep 202013Loss12–1Ričards BolotņiksTKO1 (10), 14 Dec 201912Win12–0Liam Conroy8 (10)21 Jun 201911Win11–0Abdullah Arabie5 (6), 26 Apr 201910Win10–0Josip PerkovicPTS829 Mar 20199Win9–0Rolando Leonel Paredes Ramirez9 (10), 5 Oct 20188Win8–0Steve Collins Jr.PTS818 Aug 20187Win7–0Michal CiachTKO3 (6), 21 Apr 20186Win6–0Przemyslaw BiniendaPTS618 Nov 20175Win5–0Attila Tibor NagyTKO1 (6), 16 Sep 20174Win4–0Istvan Orsos4 (6), 17 Jun 20173Win3–0Curtis GarganoPTS410 Mar 20172Win2–0Remigijus ZiausysPTS43 Dec 20161Win1–0Merdjidin Yuseinov415 Nov 2016
Exhibition boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes1Draw0–0–1Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson316 Jan 2021
References