Steven Ward has revealed the full extent of the horrible cut that ended his fight with Kamshybek Kunkabayev last weekend.
The Belfast boxer lost out in Kazakhstan following an accidental use of the elbow in the WBA Gold cruiserweight title fight.
The contest was waved off as a result of the injury in the fifth round before going to the judges' scorecards, with all three scoring in favour of home favourite Kunkabayev.
Ward posted photographs of his injury on his Instagram account, showing the nasty gash before it was stitched up and then an image of the completed repair job afterwards.
The cut required both internal and external stitches to repair damaged muscle and tissue on the 31-year-old's forehead.
Ward prised the surgeon who carried out the remedial work, saying: "Massive thank you to @slamov.r who done an incredible job stitching me up after the fight the other night. The before and after."
Last Saturday's fight at the CSKA Sport Complex in Almaty was a brave effort from Ward who admitted he was "rolling the dice" by travelling to Kazakhstan for the contest.
The win sees Kunkabayev ease to a perfect professional record of 4-0, while it is Ward's (13-2) second defeat in the paid ranks.
