Steven Ward wins bruising Belfast battle
Steven Ward rounded off a great first year as a pro tonight in Belfast with his sixth win in twelve months.
The Newtownabbey light heavyweight was in action on the big card at the SSE Odyssey Arena, featuring on the undercard of temporary stablemate Carl Frampton.
Currently based alongside Frampton at the VIP Gym in Astley under Jamie Moore, whilst trainer Oliver Harrison recovers from ill health, Ward gave a controlled performance in the final untelevised undercard bout.
‘The Quiet Man’ faced Przemyslaw Binienda over six rounds. The tough Pole had given Kildare debutant Chris Mullally a real scare on the Newbridge fighter’s debut back in September and gave Ward the toughest fight of his pro career thus far here.
That said, while the import was game, Ward had way too much and grabbed a dpoints win following a bruising affair.
It was a measured start from the Commonwealth silver medalist, who looked to land big single shots upstairs.
The Eastern European opponent began to come forward more in the second, however this only resulted in Ward doing damage as Binienda opened up.
Ward hurt Binienda early in the third, but the Pole answered back with a volley of punches of his own – only for the home favourite to fire back with more jarring straight shots.
Binienda looked in bad shape at the end of the third, but continued to march forward as the fight entered it’s second half – and Ward would continue to land powerful straight shots to the head mixed in with hooks to the body.
The visiting Pole pressed the action in the fifth, making it a close quarters bout on the ropes. The pair would trade throughout, with Ward landing the far greater number of shots and managing to drive Binienda back with a straight right in the closing exchanges.
Ward went for the finish in the sixth and final round, staggering Binienda early and again throughout but the journeyman managed to see the final bell.
Going to the final scorecard, Ward was announced a 60-55 winner.
The win sees 27 year old Ward improve to 6(2)-0 and he will look to turn his attention toward domestic titles in the new year. The game Binienda falls to 2(2)-14(5) however certainly provided value for money.
