Background
Ward grew up in a sports-oriented family, as her father, Larry Ward, is a famous harness racer.
Ward grew up in a sports-oriented family, as her father, Larry Ward, is a famous harness racer.
Ward played basketball at Trinity High School in Garfield Heights and was twice named Ohio"s "Mississippi Basketball." She made "Parade All American" teams twice. She was recruited by Division I universities across the United States.
In 1991, Ward accepted a basketball scholarship at the University of Tennessee.
After her college career ended in 1995, Ward played for a professional basketball club in Germany. She later played for the American Basketball League"s Colorado Xplosion.
After a broken leg cut her professional basketball career short, Ward turned her attention to boxing. Ward"s boxing debut occurred on January 15, 2000, when she knocked out Faye Steffen in round one at LaPorte, Indiana.
Her first four fights all ended in first round knockout wins for Ward.
On April 27, 2000, she met Genevia Buckwalter in New New York Ward"s next five rivals did not make it past the second round, with two first round knockouts and three second round wins. At this point of her career, she had a streak of twelve knockout wins in a row.
On February 2, 2001, she met prospect Kisha Snow as part of the state fair celebrations in Columbus, Ohio.
Snow came into the fight undefeated after six bouts, and she and Ward engaged in a four round war, but Ward made Snow her thirteenth straight knockout victim. Then came Carley Pesente, on June 16, at Kansas City, Missouri.
Pesente lasted two rounds. On May 8, 2004, Ward fought a nationally televised championship bout with Ann Wolfe in Biloxi, Mississippi.
At one minute and eight seconds of the first round, Wolfe knocked out Ward with a devastating right to the chin-made even more devastating by the fact that Ward inadvertently jumped forward into the impact of the punch-leaving Ward profoundly asleep on the mat for a few minutes.
This first round knockout defeat caused her to lose her title and her undefeated status. Ward had a neck concussion because she hit the canvas with her neck when she fell, and she was hospitalized after this bout. On December 12, 2004, Ward returned to the boxing ring, knocking out Marsha Valley in four rounds in Cleveland.
Ward"s boxing record stands at 23 wins and 1 loss, with 17 wins by knockout.
Ward defended her title successfully with an eighth round knockout over Kathy Rivers on December 6 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland.
While a member of Pat Summitt"s Lady Vols, Ward played in one National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball championship game (1995) during her college career at Tennessee, losing to the University of Connecticut.