Joe Ward confirms he will face Marco Delgado in rematch next month
Joe Ward's rematch with Marco Delgado, his opponent when he dislocated his knee in a freak accident during his professional debut in 2019, has been confirmed for next month.
The Moate man told the Westmeath Independent that the bout has been fixed for Puerto Rico on March 18.
Ward had been on top during the early stages of their contest in New York when his left leg buckled in the second round, resulting in a knee injury which required surgery.
Delgado was declared the winner of the fight, by TKO, and Ward said he's now aiming to set the record straight.
"It's a rematch of my debut in Madison Square Garden, and since then, in his last fight, Delgado has beaten a really good American prospect, who was unbeaten.
"So I'm looking forward to getting back in there and continuing where I left off, because I was in control of the fight. I want to put things right and put it to bed once and for all.
"It's a good platform for me, it's a (televised) show as well, so I'm really looking forward to it."
He is planning to travel to Mexico this weekend, where he will be in quarantine for two weeks before entering a pre-fight training camp in the US.
After more than a year out of the ring, due to injury and then the pandemic, Ward (27) returned to action in Mexico in December, where he won two fights in quick succession, both by first round stoppage.
The possibility of a Ward-Delgado rematch was first mentioned last month by promoter Lou DiBella when he appeared on journalist Kevin Byrne's Rocky Road: Rewind podcast.
"I spoke to Delgado's manager about potentially setting up a rematch with Joe for March," said DiBella at the time.
"It's not done — I have to make the fight and then place it — but if I can make the fight I’ll be able to place it.
"It would be nice to do it in March, it would be perfect timing for Joe and hopefully travel will be OK by then."
Ward said that if all goes according to plan against Delgado, he hopes to then be back in action again in the US in April.
On social media earlier this week, he paid tribute to his original coach in Moate Boxing Club, Seamus Dorrington, thanking him for his guidance and encouragement over the years.
"I walked through the doors of his boxing club when I was seven years old, and Seamus taught me the fundamentals of boxing. Most of all, he guided me the right way and put me on the right road in boxing.
"What a great coach, and what a great man. Never forget the people who were there at the beginning," said Ward.