Steven Ward has decided that he will begin the New Year by moving up in weight.

The Belfast-born fighter suffered his first reverse as a professional earlier this month.

Ward lost to Ricards Bolotniks at the Brentwood Centre in Essex, London, in the quarter-finals of the Golden Contract tournament, exclusively live on Sky Sports and ESPN +.

The 29-year-old, who picked the Latvian in the draw for the eight-man MTK Global-promoted tournament, was defending his WBO European light-heavyweight title.

But after being dropped three times in the opening round and stopped by referee Phil Edwards after just two minutes and 21 seconds of the contest, ‘The Quiet Man’ has broken his silence and revealed his next move.

“Things didn’t go my way and for a while, I’ve been struggling to make the light-heavyweight limit and that showed in my last performance,” Ward said on social media. “When the opportunity came up to fight in the tournament, it was one that couldn’t be missed.

“Now that it’s over, myself, [trainer] Jamie [Moore] and [co-trainer] Nigel [Travis] have decided to begin campaigning at cruiserweight as we feel it will be better suited now that I’ve outgrown light-heavyweight.”

Ward went into the Bolotniks fight with an unblemished ledger of 12-0 with four quick, while the win over Ward means his fellow 29-year-old improved his record to 16-5-1 with seven stoppages.

“I’m now looking forward to a massive 2020,” Ward added, “and a few extra selection boxes this Christmas.”