Joe Ward: The unluckiest man in Irish boxing | ‘I’ve been through it all and now I can fight through this’ | Boxing News

Joe Ward had the world at his feet. He was an amateur boxing sensation, he had a golden future laid out before him. Until disaster struck, over and over again.

In 2011 Ward made history, becoming the youngest Irish boxer to win a gold medal at the senior European Championships.

Even at that early stage hype was building for what Ward could accomplish at the London Olympics. But at the 2012 qualification event, tucked away in Trabzon in Turkey, the teenage Ward lost a contentious decision to the host nation boxer.

“My main goal was always to get to the Olympics in London. Trabzon just wasn’t to be, as you know. It felt like we won the fight and we just didn’t get the decision,” Ward told Sky Sports.

He regrouped and made the 2016 Olympics his target. He reached the Rio Games, only to crash out at the first stage as the referee gave him two baffling points deductions, tipping the three-round amateur bout in his opponent’s favour.

“It was one of these things that was out of my control,” Ward reflected. “I picked up two public warnings, where I was still winning on the scorecards but because of the warnings I was beaten on a 3-2 split decision. Definitely at that time I was very disheartened.

“I was kind of saying to myself: ‘Am I ever going to get that little bit of luck?’ But again after a few weeks you just regroup and go back to the gym.”

He won three European golds in all and a cluster of World Championship medals.

“It’s not an accident to be consistently winning,” he said. “You have to have something a little bit special about you. I believe so.”

But an Olympic medal could have taken put him on a completely different trajectory. That was something he was denied.

“I kind of always focus on the future,” he reflected. “Sometimes you can overthink about what’s gone. It’s not going to change anything.

“I’ve always loved boxing and loved being around it and it’s something that gave me huge opportunities in my life, to travel the world and meet so many great people. For me I just don’t think there’s anything else.

“It’s something that I love doing.”

Eventually, in 2019, he turned professional. He had his first pro fight at Madison Square Garden in New York, it was all set up for him. Then painful disaster struck.

In the second round his knee dislocated and collapsed beneath him. His debut could scarcely have been gone worse.

“You kind of question it sometimes,” Ward said. “It could have happened somewhere else but I believe everything happens for a reason. It was out of my control. It was one of these freak accidents that happen. Obviously it was devastating when it happened, I was very upset.

“Mentally you don’t want to leave the game, you always want to be involved. Sometimes injuries can stop that from happening, I was hoping that that my knee wasn’t going to stop me continuing chasing my goals and my career. It was good that everything worked out well with the operation and they said there were no more issues.”

The business of boxing can be unforgiving. Opportunities dried up, but Ward stayed patient, fought on and now on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, he takes on hard-punching, undefeated light-heavyweight contender Artjom Kasparian in Dublin.

“There’s no point getting in there to take easy fights,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to step up and fight decent fighters and move on and challenge myself to see how far I can really take it. I really believe in myself, I can go all the way.

“That’s the key, just getting the opportunity, getting the right fights at the right time. It felt like that never happened over the last couple of years.”

He believes all that misfortune, the bad luck that has shrouded his talent, will now help him.

“Things will change, you will get a bit of luck along the way,” Ward said. “That makes you a stronger person. I feel like that will give you the extra edge then when something happens in a fight or a moment where you just need something different. That will always flash back – look, I’ve been through it all and now I can fight through this.

“The most important thing as a fighter is to still believe in yourself, still stay focused, still keep in the gym, keep learning. Doors will open for you, opportunities will come.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career but looking back I’m grateful for opportunities and grateful for what I’ve achieved. I just stuck at it and here I am still going strong, still believe in myself, believe I’m probably the best I’ve ever been physically, mentally. So I’m excited.”

Watch Joe Ward vs Artjom Kasparian this Saturday live on Sky Sports.