Joe Ward looking forward to fight in Long Island next month

Moate's Joe Ward is currently in training ahead of his third bout of 2021, which is set to take place in Long Island, New York, on Thursday, November 11.

The Moate boxer, who turns 28 next week, travelled with coach Jimmy Payne to Toronto, Canada, for a recent two-week training camp before relocating to New York.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, he said he was looking forward to getting back into the ring on November 11 during a night of boxing at The Paramount in Huntington, Long Island.

Details of his opponent are not yet available.

Ward said it would be emotional to box in Long Island as it was the home of his manager, Joe Winters, who died last January after contracting Covid-19.

"My manager, who sadly passed away, is from Long Island so it's going to be emotional but it's also exciting to get out there and fight," he said.

"If all goes well we will then be hoping to have another fight, an eight-rounder, in New York in the first or second week of December.

"Everything has been going really well in training, and it's exciting to be back over here before Christmas to get two good fights in."

After suffering a freak knee injury which resulted in a second round TKO defeat in his professional debut, two years ago, Ward has gone on to record four successive victories.

The light heavyweight's last outing was at Madison Square Garden on August 3, where he won all six rounds against the previously-unbeaten American Tory Williams.