STEVEN Ward will get an surprising title shot this Friday night when he takes on Juergen Uldedaj in Dubai for the vacant IBF International cruiserweight strap. While the belt may be a little trinket-like, it does provide the winner a route nearer to world-class.
If Ward, 14-2 (4 KOs), wins then that’s fairly the profession turnaround for the Belfast man, contemplating he was prepared to pack it in for good final yr.
At the shut of 2023, Ward had not been within the ring since December 2021 and plenty of thought that the ‘Quiet Man’ had slipped into a silent retirement.
His final foray into the massive time was sufficient to power anybody to contemplate their choices. Boxing Kazakhstan puncher Kamshybek Kunkabayev in his yard was robust sufficient for Steven, who suffered a horror slice above his eye and the bout was terminated. Going to the playing cards after seven rounds, all three judges had Kunkabayev forward 70-62.
That effort for the vacant WBA Gold cruiserweight crown despatched Ward into the remedy room and a two-year ring wilderness, the place he stored sparring and coaching for a name that by no means got here.
Eventually returning within the Ulster Hall on a late March Conlan Boxing present, Ward shut out Perry Howe over six rounds however appeared understandably rusty and missing timing.
That six rounds could possibly be invaluable now that he has grabbed the comparatively short-notice battle within the impressively-titled Motospace Dubai Investment Park on July 19.
Opponent Uldedaj, a German-based Albanian, is 17-1 with solely six knockouts. The 26-year-old’s sole loss got here in the midst of a three-fight streak in England as he conceded an eight-round factors resolution on Howard Foster’s card to the unremarkable Benoit Hubner.
Ward will little question have taken notice of that efficiency. Some would even go as far as to counsel that Ward is a greater risk to Uldedaj (given the Newtownabbey man’s beginner and professional expertise) than the unique foe.
In April, Italy’s Claudio Squeo gained the identical fringe IBF title that Ward and Uldedaj now contest in Dubai. All set to defend it, the Puglia pugilist suffered an harm and Ward stepped in as a substitute at simply two weeks’ discover to save the primary occasion slot.
Source link
