Steven Ward and Marco McCullough have tough Belfast tussles

Light-heavyweight Ward (8-0-KO3) became BUI Celtic champion at Windsor Park last time out but in Paredes (15-7-2-KO11), he faces Mexico’s top man at 175lb.

The 26-year-old Paredes earned the Mexican title last year with an impressive stoppage of Miguel Aguilar, who had only suffered one defeat in 18 at the time – and that also coming at the hands of ‘Indio.’

Paredes will arrive in Belfast off the back of another early night’s work; he halted Fermin Alberto Canedo in his home city Mexicali back in August.

Super-featherweight hopeful McCullough, meanwhile, has been matched with rejuvenated Dominican Encarnacion, who has lost just twice to high-class opposition in the last six years.

With McCullough keen to push towards earning a world ranking, Encarnacion guards the gate having taken Guillaume Frenois – the man set to face Jono Carroll in an IBF world title final eliminator – to the scorecards for the EBU European crown a year ago.

Ward versus Paredes and McCullough and Encarnacion feature on a lengthy card at the Titanic Exhibition Centre with Tyrone McCullagh’s WBO European title clash with Josh Kennedy headlining and the likes of Conrad Cummings, Sean McComb, Steven Donnelly, Paddy Gallagher plus many more on the bill.