| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname | The Quiet Man [1] | |||||||||||
| Born | 18 April 1990 [1] | |||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) [1] | |||||||||||
| Weight | Cruiserweight, Light-heavyweight, Heavyweight | |||||||||||
| Boxing career | ||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||
| Boxing record [2] | ||||||||||||
| Total fights | 19 | |||||||||||
| Wins | 15 | |||||||||||
| Win by KO | 5 | |||||||||||
| Losses | 4 | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
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.
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. [3] [4] 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. [5]
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. [6]
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. [7] [8] [9]
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. [10] [11]
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. [12] [13]
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. [14] [15]
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. [16]
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. [16] [17] Ward lost by stoppage in the fifth round. [18] [19]
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. [20] [21]
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. [22] [23]
Ward announced his retirement from professional boxing on 23 June 2025. [24] [25]
Ward founded and runs Fight2Thrive, an organisation aimed at helping young people in Northern Ireland to improve their mental and physical fitness. [26] [27]
| 19 fights | 15 wins | 4 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 5 | 3 |
| By decision | 9 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Loss | 15–4 | Mike Perez | TKO | 9 (10), 0:49 | 7 Jun 2025 | Portman Road, Ipswich, England | For vacant WBA Intercontinental cruiserweight title |
| 18 | Win | 15–3 | Tommy McCarthy | TKO | 6 (10), 1:17 | 1 Mar 2025 | SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 17 | Loss | 14–3 | Juergen Uldedaj | TKO | 5 (10), 2:46 | 19 Jul 2024 | Motorspace Dubai Investments Park, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | For vacant IBF International cruiserweight title |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Perry Howe | PTS | 6 | 30 Mar 2024 | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 15 | Loss | 13–2 | Kamshybek Kunkabayev | TD | 7 (10), 1:05 | 11 Dec 2021 | CSKA Sport Complex, Almaty, Kazakhstan | For vacant WBA Gold cruiserweight title |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Jone Volau | PTS | 6 | 30 Sep 2020 | Production Park Studios, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, England | |
| 13 | Loss | 12–1 | Ričards Bolotņiks | TKO | 1 (10), 2:21 | 14 Dec 2019 | Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex, England | Lost WBO European light-heavyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Liam Conroy | TD | 8 (10) | 21 Jun 2019 | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won vacant WBO European light-heavyweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Abdullah Arabie | RTD | 5 (6), 3:00 | 26 Apr 2019 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Josip Perkovic | PTS | 8 | 29 Mar 2019 | Ulster Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Rolando Leonel Paredes Ramirez | DQ | 9 (10), 2:08 | 5 Oct 2018 | Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Paredes, after having one point deducted in the fourth round, was disqualified for repeated headbutts |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Steve Collins Jr. | PTS | 8 | 18 Aug 2018 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Won vacant BUI Celtic light-heavyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Michal Ciach | TKO | 3 (6), 2:48 | 21 Apr 2018 | SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Przemyslaw Binienda | PTS | 6 | 18 Nov 2017 | SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Attila Tibor Nagy | TKO | 1 (6), 1:30 | 16 Sep 2017 | Devenish Complex, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Istvan Orsos | TKO | 4 (6), 3:00 | 17 Jun 2017 | Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Curtis Gargano | PTS | 4 | 10 Mar 2017 | Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Remigijus Ziausys | PTS | 4 | 3 Dec 2016 | Hilton Hotel, Coventry, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Merdjidin Yuseinov | PTS | 4 | 15 Nov 2016 | Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Draw | 0–0–1 | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | D | 3 | 16 January 2021 | Conrad Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
