Joe Ward's 3Arena fight this Saturday to be shown live on Sky

Joe Ward will be stepping back into the ring in Dublin's 3 Arena this Saturday night (August 8) when he takes on unbeaten Artjom 'The Tank' Kasparian in a highly-anticipated bout that will be screened live on Sky Sports and Sky One.

The light-heavyweight from Moate, who coaches with Athlone Boxing Club, will be fighting for the first time since October 2024. He endured a number of frustrating setbacks when scheduled fights during the intervening 22 months fell through.

He is certainly not easing himself back into it, though, as his opponent on Saturday is the toughest he's faced as a professional and has a record of 14 wins and no defeats, with 12 wins coming by KO.

"It was never on the radar to have a 'warm-up' fight. I was happy enough just to get back in the ring fighting," Ward told Off The Ball this week.

"Obviously Kasparian was a good amateur and he's unbeaten as a pro. He's a good fighter, but I believe the best of me can take care of anybody."

The Ward-Kasparian fight on Saturday is part of the first Irish show staged by Zuffa Boxing, the relatively new promotional company co-founded by Dana White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Television coverage of the event will be on Sky Sports and Sky One, with the broadcast getting underway at 7pm on Saturday. Ward's fight is provisionally expected to begin around 8pm, though this is subject to change.

The local 32-year-old was an outstanding amateur who won silver and bronze medals at world championships and was a three-time European champion.

Ward has a professional record of 12 wins (8 by KO) and one defeat, which was the result of a freak knee injury which occurred in his pro debut in New York in 2019.

He said this week that he believes he still has plenty of miles left in the tank and is eager to test himself against the world's best

"All you need to do is look at me, (to see that) I didn't take too much damage down through the years!" he smiled.

"So I think there's a good few years left in me, and left in the body. I'm just looking forward to taking care of business.

"Training camp has gone really well over the last 8 or 9 weeks. Now it's all about performing on Saturday night," he said.