Blow for Joe Ward as Madison Square Garden fight night is called off

There was disappointment for Joe Ward in recent days, with the cancellation of a big boxing event at which he was due to appear in New York City.

Ward had been lined up to face Frederic Julan, a 34-year-old New York-based Frenchman, on the undercard of a bill headlined by Jake Paul's fight against Hasim Rahman Jr this Saturday night (August 6).

Unfortunately, Jake Paul, the social media celebrity-turned boxer, announced on Sunday that the event was off following a dispute about the agreed weight for his bout with Rahman.

Paul said he was "devastated" about the event's cancellation. "I apologise to everyone on the undercard. This is absurd... there's nothing I can do about it," he said.

Ward had travelled to New York in recent weeks and was looking ahead to what would have been his second fight this year, and his first since the beginning of April.

The 28-year-old has eight professional bouts under his belt to date.

Amanda Serrano, who was narrowly beaten by Katie Taylor in the first female fight to headline a show at Madison Square Garden earlier this year, had also been scheduled to box on the undercard of this weekend's event.

Joe Ward is continuing to train and is hoping to be back in action in the near future.