After an amateur career which included winning the heavyweight division silver medal at the
2010 Commonwealth Games and three
Ulster senior titles, Ward turned professional in August 2016. He made his pro-debut on 5 November that year at the
Titanic Exhibition Centre in
Belfast, defeating Merdjidin Yuseinov on points over four rounds. With a perfect record of seven wins from seven contests, Ward claimed his first professional title by beating Steve Collins Jr. on points for the vacant
BUI Celtic
light-heavyweight championship at
Windsor Park in Belfast on 18 August 2018. He faced
Liam Conroy for the vacant
WBO European light-heavyweight title at
Ulster Hall in Belfast on 21 June 2019. The bout was halted in the eighth round because of a cut he sustained during an accidental clash of heads. At that stage, all three ringside judges' scorecards had Ward ahead 76–75, meaning he won the contest via unanimous technical decision. Ward made the first defense of his title against
Ričards Bolotņiks at the Brentwood Centre in
Brentwood, England, on 14 December 2019, in a fight which doubled as a quarter-final in the
Golden Contract tournament run by
MTK Global. He was knocked to the canvas three times in the opening round before the referee stopped the bout, handing his opponent a technical knockout victory. On 16 January 2021, Ward faced
2018 World's Strongest Man and
Game of Thrones star,
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, in a three-round exhibition match at the
Conrad Hotel in
Dubai. The contest was declared a draw. Switching up in weight categories to
cruiserweight, he fought
Kamshybek Kunkabayev for the vacant
WBA Gold title at CSKA Sport Complex in
Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 11 December 2021. Ward suffered a severe cut caused by what the referee ruled to be an accidental elbow from his opponent which forced the fight to be ended in round seven. He lost via unanimous technical decision as all three judges had Kunkabayev 70–62 in the lead at the time of the stoppage. A more than two-year hiatus from the competitive boxing ring followed, before Ward returned to action on 30 March 2024, recording a points win over six rounds against Perry Howe at Ulster Hall in Belfast. On 19 July 2024, he faced
Juergen Uldedaj for the vacant
IBF International cruiserweight title at
Motorspace Dubai Investments Park in Dubai, taking the fight at two weeks notice after Uldedaj's original opponent, Claudio Squeo, withdrew due to injury. Ward lost by stoppage in the fifth round. He got back to winning ways in his next outing, stopping
Tommy McCarthy in the sixth of their scheduled 10-round contest at the
SSE Arena in Belfast on 1 March 2025. Ward faced
Mike Perez for the vacant WBA Intercontinental cruiserweight title at
Portman Road in
Ipswich, England, on 7 June 2025. He was sent to the canvas twice in the eighth round and again in the ninth, at which point his corner threw in the towel to end the fight. Ward announced his retirement from professional boxing on 23 June 2025. ==Personal life==