Nick Ball v Ronny Rios 5/10/24

[Master]

Nick Ball will make the first defence of his WBA featherweight title against Ronny Rios on 5 October at the M&S Arena in Liverpool.

Ball, 27, returns to his hometown as a world champion for the first time and has not fought in Liverpool for almost four years.

The Briton won the WBA title in June and is undefeated in 21 fights.

"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," Ball said.

Ball defeated Raymond Ford to strip him of his WBA title after suffering heartbreak against WBC champion Rey Vargas in March due to a controversial draw.

Frank Warren, Ball's promoter, believes his fighter is "unquestionably" the best featherweight in the world.

Alongside Rhiannon Dixon, Ball is the only undefeated British world champion, although the Liverpudlian has the draw on his record.

Challenger Rios has twice contested world titles at super-bantamweight and has four losses in 38 fights.

The American will be fighting outside of the United States for the first time as a professional.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/a...s/c79w3vqwg85o

[Spicoli]

Have a sneaking suspicion Ball will look absolutely devastating in his first defense. What a stacked division featherweight is right now. So many potential barn burner match ups and unifications.

[Master]

Nick Ball is set to face the challenge of Ronny Rios on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, at Liverpool Arena, Liverpool.

The fight will take place over 12 rounds in the Featherweight division.

Nick Ball steps into the ring with an undefeated record of 20 wins, zero losses, and 1 draw, 11 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Ronny Rios will make his way to the ring with a record of 34 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, with 17 of those wins by knockout.

Ball remains undefeated as a professional, stopping 2 of his recent opponents.

In his last fight, he won against Raymond Ford on June 1, 2024, by split decision in their WBA World Featherweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Prior to that, he had drawn with Rey Vargas on March 8, 2024, by split draw in their 12 round contest in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.

Going into that contest, he had won against Isaac Dogboe on November 18, 2023, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Rios has beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight, he lost to Murodjon Akhmadaliev on June 25, 2022, by technical knockout in the 12th round in their WBA Super World Super Bantamweight and IBF World Junior Featherweight championship fight at Tech Port Arena, Texas, United States.

https://box.live/fights/ball-vs-rios/