Joseph Ward (born 30 October 1993) is an Irish

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, he won gold medals at the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and 2017 European Championships, silver at the

and 2017 World Championships and bronze at the 2013 edition, and represented Ireland at the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, in the

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division

Amateur career

2007 European Schoolboys Championships

Ward won his first major international medal, a 56 kg silver, at the 2007 European Schoolboys Championships in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England. Results: * T.Dogan: Won - PTS (17:2) * Islam Khalidov: Lost - PTS (1:6)

2008 European Junior Championships

Ward followed up this continental medal with a 63 kg bronze in the Junior age group at the championships in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, Bulgaria. Results: * Donato Cosenza: Won - PTS (17:2) * Kiril Samodurov: Won - PTS (19:3) * Vasile Bucur: Won - RSC (2nd round) * Avak Uzlyan: Lost - PTS (6-20)

2009 World Junior Championships

Ward won his first major gold medal in 2009, at the World Junior Championships in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Ward defeated Armenian fighter Hayk Khachatryan in the

light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

final. Results: * Denis Rybak: Won - RSC (3rd round) * Rustam Musaadzhiyev: Won - RSC (2nd round) * Ravshanjon Abdunazarov: Won - PTS (12:2) * Hayk Khachatryan: Won - RSC (3rd round)

2010 World Youth Championships

In May 2010, Ward won his second World title at the World Youth Championships in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. He defeated Australia's

Damien Hooper Damien Hooper (born 5 February 1992) is an Indigenous Australian professional boxer. As an amateur he was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the light-heavyweight division. Early life Hooper was raised by his grandm ...

in the final, this time at middleweight. Results: * Bekim Vjerdha: Won - RSC (2nd round) * Frank Sánchez: Won - PTS (8:1) * Kazim Eneyev: Won - PTS (9:6) * Leonardo Carrillo: Won - PTS (11:3) *

: Won - PTS (6:1)

2010 Youth Olympics

Ward's gold in Yerevan qualified him for the inaugural

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. However, a painful hand injury suffered in the opening round of his opening bout versus Damien Hooper would scupper his medal hopes and, one-handed, he would lose to his Australian rival. Results: *

: Lost - PTS (2-4)

2011 European Amateur Championships

At the 2011

European Amateur Boxing Championships The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the '' European Boxing Confederation''. The first edition of the tournament t ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Ward met Nikita Ivanov in the light-heavyweight final, where he took the gold medal after a 20–12 victory over the Russian to become Ireland's youngest ever Senior European gold medallist. Results: * Ainar Karlson: Won - PTS (10:7) * Simone Fiori: Won - PTS (15:13) * Imre Szello: Won - PTS (18:8) * Nikita Ivanov: Won - PTS (20:12)

2011 World Amateur Championships

Ward suffered his first Senior defeat at the

2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan from September 22 to October 10, 2011. The competition ran under the supervision of the world's governing body for amateur ...

in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Irish teenager reached the Round of 16 where he was eliminated on a countback by Iranian veteran

Ehsan Rouzbahani Ehsan Rouzbahani (; born June 23, 1988) is an Iranian boxer who competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics at light heavyweight. At the 2010 Asian Games he lost his second bout to Elshod Rasulov. At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he be ...

. Results: * Dilovarshakh Abdurakhmanov: Won - PTS (22:4) *

: Lost - PTS (15:15+)

2013 European Amateur Championships

After the Rouzbabhani defeat and his subsequent controversial loss to Bahram Muzzafer in the Olympic qualifiers in

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

, Ward's bad luck continued at the 2013 European Amateur Boxing Championships in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Here the reigning champion was eliminated in his opening fight where, winning handily, he was forced to pull out in the final round after a clash of knees with Mateusz Tryc. Results: * Mateusz Tryc: Lost - RSCI (3rd round)

2013 World Amateur Championships

In October 2013, at 19 years of age, Ward won a bronze medal at the

World Amateur Boxing Championships IBA World Boxing Championships may refer to: * IBA Men's World Boxing Championships * IBA Women's World Boxing Championships {{Short pages monitor