Former Repton fighter ready for biggest test

Unbeaten super-featherweight Martin J Ward is determined that his bout on the December 6 Prizefighter show can lead to bigger prizes.

Ward, 23, gets a feature fight on the Matchroom show, a British title eliminator against Yorkshire rival Maxi Hughes

After 11 unbeaten pro fights Ward, a multi-title winner at Repton, is hungry for more championship action and is confident he will come through the toughest test of his career.

“Everyone will see what I’m made of at York Hall on the night. I’m going to make a statement,” he said.

Ward, guided by east Londoner trainer/manager Tony Sims, is a talented fighter who has hardly lost a single round in those 11 fights and his last five victims did not last the distance.

The only time he failed to triumph was at Wembley in May when a first-minute clash of heads with Ian Bailey saw the fight declared a technical draw after just 101 seconds.

Southpaw Hughes is clearly his best rival and has lost just one of 15 fights, a 98-94 points defeat against still unbeaten Scott Cardle in a Central Area lightweight title bout last year.

Ward is training hard for the fight alongside unbeaten lightweight Ohara Davies, another ex Repton amateur who is also booked for action on the Prizefighter bill.

Gary Buckland and Stephen Foster Junior lead the line-up for Prizefighter Lightweights III at York Hall where Buckland won the super featherweight Prizefighter in 2010.

They are joined by east London-based Danny ‘Cassius’ Connor, Essex boxer Lee Martin, Luton’s Michael Devine and Hampshire’s Floyd Moore with two more entries to be named by Eddie Hearn.

Meanwhile, Barney Docherty kept his winning run in Repton colours going with a classy display to outpoint Chatteris rival Ray Williams at Hooks BC.

But Docherty’s Repton clubmate Jimmy Dean Lee had his victory run halted when he was narrowly defeated by bright Dagenham prospect Tariq Agius on the Newham show at East Ham Workinng Mens’ Club on Friday.