Professional Boxer Nathan Ward from Reading, Berkshire has decided to hang up his boxing gloves and enter the world of Extreme Cage Fighting. Ward currently holds an 11-03-0 Professional Boxing record including 4 KOs and is the current British Masters Title Holder.

However recently 4 out of his last 5 fights have been cancelled on him and Nathan, 27 admits he is not getting any younger and after continuously training for fights and having them cancelled he just wants to get in there and fight!

Recently Cage Fighting or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as it is otherwise known has grown in popularity, especially with the rise in the Ultimate Fighting Championships from America. In less than a decade, MMA has gone from being a novelty spectacle to a world wide sport. It has become the fastest growing sport in the world and now the sport has evolved incorporating mandatory rules and regulations.

Two Competitors face of inside the 27ft Steel Octagon Cage for 3 x 5 minute rounds wearing only 4oz gloves, a gum shield and a groin box for protection.

There has been a lot of talk recently asking the question “Is MMA taking over from Boxing”. Well the sport is definitely growing and now Nathan has decided to make the switch and will be making his debut inside the cage on Saturday July 07th at the Rivermead Complex, Reading Berkshire RG1 8EQ.

Nathan has undergone extensive training with Cage Fighting legend Jeremy "Bad Boy" Bailey over recent months to sharpen up on his other skills as MMA converges the art of not just boxing but Kickboxing, Grappling, Wrestling, Ju-jitsu and karate all in to one form.

FX3 The “Freestyle Fighting Federation” is the promotion running this event and they are currently ranking in the top 2 events throughout the UK, they are expecting a capacity crowd of over 3000 people and as this is being held in Nathan’s home town you can expect a large support cheering him on.

The event will consist of a huge international fight card including 15 professional fights -12 x MMA fights and 3 x K1 Kickboxing Bouts. There will also be two world title fights on the card including Alex Owen (UK) V’s Emmanuel Fernandez (France) for the Feather Weight Championship of the World.

Source: www.fx3.org.uk