Martin Joseph Ward (born 13 July 1991) is a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Yo ...

title from 2016 to 2017, and the

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and

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super-featherweight titles from 2017 to 2018.

Life

Martin Ward is the son of a builder, and one of five children."LOOK BACK: Navestock boxer Martin Ward looks forward to first pro bout
" ''Brentwood Gazette'', 31 August 2013 Some of his brothers, including John Ward, who in 2010 was the Junior European champion in his weight class. He attended Sawyers Hall College, but left school at age 14. He trains at the Repton Boxing Club in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

. In August 2012, he and his brother John Ward were shot on farmland in Essex in what Essex police called a "neighbour feud." Francis O'Donoghue was sentenced to sixteen and half years for the shooting.

Amateur career

Martin Ward won the title in 2007 at the Junior European Union Championships (Cadets) of the European Union in

Porto Torres Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...

in the weight class under 46 kg, just edging out Hamza Touba from Germany in points (23-22). At the Junior European Championship (Cadets) of the same year in Siofok, he earned the bronze medal. He also won a bronze at the Junior World Championship (Cadets) 2007 in Baku, where he lost in the semi-final against Elvin Isayev from Azerbaijan by points (5-18). In 2008, he earned a silver in flyweight at the Brandenburg Cup in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, losing to Qualid Berlaoura from France to points (9-18). In 2009, he won another international title, the European Youth Championship (formerly Junior Championship) in

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

in featherweight, defeating in the final round Bunjamin Aydin from Turkey by points (4-0). In 2010, Martin Ward became the first English featherweight champion with a points victory in the final over

Ryan Farrag Ryan Farrag (born 6 February 1988) is an English professional boxer. He held the European bantamweight title from 2015 to 2016 and challenged once for the British bantamweight title in 2016. Professional career On 30 October 2015 Farrag defeat ...

(18-4). Later that year he won the 1st Championship of Great Britain, where he defeated lightweight Josh Taylor from Scotland in the finals (10-9). He qualified in England for participation in the

2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships was held in Ankara, Turkey from June 17 to June 24, 2011. It was the 39th edition of this biennial competition organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, the EUBC. Schedule ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

in lightweight. He started there in lightweight, defeating Tomas Vano from Slovakia (20-6) and Ildar Vaganov from Russia (16-10) to points. His victory over Vaganov, in particular, caused a stir, but in the quarterfinals, he was defeated by

Vladimir Saruhanyan Vladimir Saruhanyan ( hy, Վլադիմիր Սարուխանյան) is an Armenian amateur boxer. Saruhanyan won a bronze medal at the 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 2011 European Amateur Boxing Championships was he ...

from Armenia to points (15-22) and thus finished fifth. Based on these successes, he was hopeful of being able to participate in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. However, in the 2011 World Championships in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

he was defeated in the second round by

Robson Conceição Robson Donato Conceição (born 25 October 1988) is a Brazilian professional boxer. He is a two-time super featherweight world title challenger, having challenged for the WBC title in 2021, and the unified WBC, WBO and '' The Ring'' titles in 2 ...

of Brazil (20-21), after being docked two points by the referee. For this reason, he was not selected to participate in the Olympic Games in London.

International championships

English championships

International matches

Professional career

He began his professional career on 8 September 2012, where he has had considerable success.

Ward vs. Boschiero

Ward fought Devis Boschiero on 30th November, 2018. Boschiero went into the fight ranked at #11 by the IBF at super featherweight. The scorecards were announced as in favor of Ward, who won by split decision.

Ward vs. Amparan

On 8 February, 2020, Ward beat Jesus Amparan by points in the 10th round.

Ward. vs Fuzile

On 29th May 2021, Azinga Fuzile beat Ward by technical knockout in the 8th round. Fuzile was ranked number 5 by the IBF at super featherweight.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Martin Joseph Ward - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
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Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Martin Joseph 1991 births English male boxers Lightweight boxers Living people Sportspeople from Leeds