Joe Ward says Irish boxing is at “an all-time high” ahead of his first fight in almost two years on Saturday at the 3Arena, Dublin.This weekend’s show, headlined by Aaron McKenna’s world middleweight title fight, will be the third at the 3Arena this year, while Katie Taylor’s final fight, at Croke Park, is less than a month away.“It’s good because I would have known all the guys through the amateur days,” explains Ward. “Irish boxing is at an all-time high now and it’s great to see so many great shows happening here.”After a stellar amateur career including three World Championship medals, Ward’s pro career has seen injuries and cancelled fights delay his rise to the top of the sport. A little over a year ago, he suffered a “big let-down” when a fight slated for Galway’s Pearse Park against former British and European champion Lerrone Richards fell through.[ One unlikely win taught Katie Taylor to believe anything is possibleOpens in new window ]However, professional boxing seems to be in a much healthier place in Ireland so far this year, and Ward sees the growing buzz around the sport when he is back coaching young amateurs in Athlone Boxing Club.“I love giving back when I can, and seeing young boys and girls develop. To see now that there’s fights happening on TV, it gives them more of an incentive to keep working hard; that if you really want to do it, the sky is the limit.”After starting out his career in the US, the Westmeath man is now based in Waterford, where he is under the tutelage of long-time trainer Jimmy Payne: “Jimmy’s been with me from the very start, and we went to America together.“Obviously we worked alongside [former world title-winning boxer and coach] Buddy McGirt and [former world champion] Joey Gamache, but Jimmy has always been there.”Since suffering a loss due to a freak knee injury in his pro debut, Ward has won 12 consecutive fights, and believes he is among the best light heavyweight boxers in the world. This weekend he will face unbeaten Dutch fighter Artjom Kasparian, who is something of an unknown quantity.“I knew him due to my amateur days, but I never boxed him. Look, he has a good record, he’s 14-0 and he’s a decent fighter. It looks a decent fight on paper, but I believe I’m right up there at the top of the 175lb division.”