WILTSHIRE prospect Johnny Ward says he is raring to go after dealing with a spout of inactivity in his boxing career.
Ward boasts a record of 3-0 with two stoppages following his first professional contest in 2019, with his most recent win coming over Ben Thomas in London in May.
The super-middleweight and his trainer Roger Lee are both based in the county, with Ward living in Cricklade and training in Swindon.
Earlier this month Ward announced that he had signed a management deal with local outfit Neilson Boxing and that it was an easy decision to make for him.
“I’ve always liked Mark and his team at Neilson Boxing, I think they do a really good job,” he said.
“Over the last couple of years, where I’ve been training in London, there have been a lot of people trying to manage me and my coach never really trusted any of them.
“So, I told him about Mark, and they got to know each other. Roger likes him a lot, and he is local to us which helps.”
Ward continued: “Mark invests in his fighters. I could have done a deal with a lot of big promoters but it was more a case of me working for them, when it should be them working for me, getting the fights that I want and paying me.
“I just want to fight now, I’m not too interested in the money at the moment because I want to be fighting for titles within the next two or three fights.
“Me and Mark work well together, and anything I’ve ever asked of him, he’s delivered that for me. He’s believed in me from the start, back to when I made my debut on his show.”
Ward’s next bout is scheduled for later this year, where he will take on Konstantin Aleksandrov over six rounds at London’s York Hall on Friday, September 9.
Promoter, Mark Neilson added: “We are incredibly excited to have Johnny sign with us, he’s immensely talented and determined to achieve great things in the sport.
“We are really looking forward it helping him with his journey, starting with his next fight which is taking place early next month.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here