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Sky Snap up Steven Ward’s British Title Eliminator Against Ultimate Boxxer Winner

Steven Ward’s British cruiserweight title eliminator will be aired on Sky Sports.

Purse bids for his mandated fight with Mikael Lawal 13(7)-0] were won by Ben Shalom of Ultimate Boxxer fame, who has since teamed up with the broadcaster.

No date or venue has been confirmed as of yet but it remains an interesting development particularly due to the fact Sky have yet to air a show since Eddie Hearn and Matchroom ended their relationship with the network.

The latest circular from the board read as follows with regard to the fight: “Following the opening of Purse bids, the above eliminator contest to be promoted by Ben Shalom will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.”

The ‘Quietman’ won’t be overly concerned as to where or when the fight takes place. Ward will be focused on the task at hand and making sure he becomes mandatory for recent Tommy McCarthy foe Chris Billam-Smith and his British title.

Ward [13(4)-1(1)] was initially mandated to fight Jack Massey in an eliminator and was set to face the former domestic title challenger on a Frank Warren show.

However, ‘One Smack’ withdrew meaning Lawal now stands between Ward and a British title fight.

Lagos-born London-based Lawal is unbeaten in 13 fights, has seven knockouts to his name and is an Ultimate Boxxer winner.

Ward was last seen in the ring in an exhibition bout with former Strong Man and Game of Thrones star Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson and was set to fight Kazakh ‘phenom’ Kamshybek Kunkabayev in February in Dubai but that fight fell through.

The Newtownabbey resident has been handed domestic duty next and has been given a clear pathway to British title success.

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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