BALL BACK IN LIVERPOOL

THE WBA WORLD featherweight champion Nick Ball will make a first defence of his title in a Liverpool homecoming fight on Saturday October 5 at the M&S Bank Arena, exclusively live on TNT Sports.

Tickets for the show will be on sale from Thursday 22 August at 10am from ticketquarter.co.uk https://www.mandsbankarena.com/whats-on/queensberry-boxing-ball-rios/

The last two fights for the 27-year-old have taken place in Saudi Arabia as part of Riyadh Season, where in June, Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) was selected as part of the Queensberry team that took on Matchroom at the Kingdom Arena in the 5 vs 5 event and he successfully took the WBA title from then champion Ray Ford in a career-best performance.

Now back fighting back on home turf and fighting for the first time at the arena, Ball will face the experienced American, Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs), who is coming off of a fifth-round KO victory back in April.

“I literally cannot wait to fight in Liverpool again, this time as a world champion,” said Ball. “It has been over four years and it will be really special for me.

“Local interest in me and the other lads in the city is growing all the time and we all want to make Liverpool a regular destination for Frank and Queensberry. We’ve got the fighters to make this happen and I am sure the people will get behind us all.

“It has been a dream year for me with two world title fights so far, so to cap it off by defending my belt at home is the icing on the cake and I am so excited.”

Also on the card, and following his dominant stoppage last time out in Birmingham, Andrew Cain (12-1, 11 KOs) will face Joshua John (10-2) for the Commonwealth and vacant British Bantamweight title, while the undefeated fighters Henry Turner (13-0, 5 KOs) and Jack Rafferty (23-0, 14 KOs) will fight for the Commonwealth, WBC International Silver and vacant British Super-Lightweight titles.

As well as this, the stacked card will also feature Cuban sensation Jadier Herrera (15-0, 13 KOs), local Liverpool lads Brad Strand (11-1-0, 3KOs) and Jack Turner (7-0, 6 KOs), plus Morecombe’s Nelson Birchall (4-0, 1 KOs).

Promoter Frank Warren added: “I am thrilled to be returning to Liverpool with a world title fight and, unquestionably, the best featherweight in the world in Nick Ball. His journey since beating Isaac Lowe at Wembley Stadium in 2022 has been a magical ride and nobody deserves a big homecoming more than Nick.

“It has long been our intention to deliver a home platform for our Liverpool contingent, but first we needed to develop them as star performers and major attractions. These boxes have been ticked in a big way by Nick and on October 5 we will be in for a special night at the M&S Bank Arena.”