Nick Ball is primed for his first title protection.
The squat WBA featherweight beltholder was on weight, as was challenger Ronny Rios for his or her scheduled 12-round bout.
Ball (20-0-1, 11 knockouts) checked in at a stacked 125.1 kilos for the occasion. Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) weighed 125.6 kilos forward of his third profession title bid.
Their bout will air dwell on TNT Sports activities within the UK and ESPN+ within the U.S. from M&S Financial institution Enviornment in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.
Ball claimed the belt in an exhilarating 12-round win over unbeaten Raymond Ford on June 1 at Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout got here simply three months after most thought of Ball unfortunate to accept a attract the identical venue versus WBC titlist Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs).
There was a short second earlier than Ball needed to hear the phrases “… and the brand new.” Ford gained 115-113 on one card, overruled by the identical scores for Ball with the opposite two judges. Their Combat of the 12 months candidate was that aggressive however noticed the title head to the UK in the long run.
Ball now will get a well-deserved homecoming for the event. The bout is his first in Liverpool since Feb. 2020.
Rios, 34, travels overseas for what’s considered as his seemingly ultimate shot at a significant title.
The Santa Ana, California native got here up quick in an Aug. 2017 bid versus Vargas, the unbeaten WBC 122-pound titlist on the time. A sixth-round knockout loss to Azat Hovhannisyan lower than eight months later threatened to depart him on the skin wanting in at junior featherweight.
Rios rebounded with 4 straight wins to change into the WBA obligatory. His twice-delayed shot versus then unbeaten WBA/IBF 122-pound Murodjon Akhmadaliev lastly got here via in June 2022. Rios was stopped within the twelfth and ultimate spherical.
Almost two years handed earlier than Rios returned to the ring and the win column. He defeated Nicolas Polanco (21-5-1 on the time) on April 24 at Probox TV Occasions Heart in Plant Metropolis, Florida.
ESPN+/TNT Sports activities Undercard 1 (7:00 p.m. GMT/2:00 p.m. ET)
Henry Turner (13-0, 5 KOs), Excessive Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, 139.7 kilos
Jack Rafferty (23-0, 14 KOs), Manchester, Lancashire, UK, 139.7 kilos
12 rounds, light-weight
Andrew Cain (12-1, 11 KOs), Liverpool, 117.1 kilos
Lazaro Casseres (11-1, 4 KOs), Mahates, Colombia, 116.1 kilos
10 rounds, bantamweight
Jadier Herrera (15-0, 13 KOs), Dubai through Camaguey, Cuba, 134 kilos
Oliver Flores (31-5, 20 KOs), Leon, Nicaragua, 134.6 kilos
10 rounds, light-weight
Jack Turner (8-0, 7 KOs), Liverpool, 120.1 kilos
Gonzalo Corinaldesi (5-6-1, 1 KO) Alta Gracia, Argentina, 118.1 kilos
6 rounds, bantamweight
Preliminary undercard
Nelson Birchall (5-0, 2 KOs), Morecambe, Lancashire, 130 ½ kilos
Mark Butler (3-12, 1 KO), Brighton, Sussex, UK, 129.9 kilos
6 rounds, junior light-weight
Lucas Biswana (professional debut), Liverpool, 145.1 kilos
Jakub Laskowski (4-31-1, 2 KOs), Siemianowice Slaskie, Poland, 144.1 kilos
4 rounds, welterweight
James McGivern (9-0, 3 KOs), Belfast, Northern Eire, 135.1 kilos
Requen Facundo Arce (17-16-2, 7 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 135.4 kilos
8 rounds, light-weight
Joe Cooper (1-0, 0 KOs), Essex, UK, 159.1 kilos
Lukasz Barabasz (4-13, 2 KOs), Mikolow, Poland, 159.1 kilos
4 rounds, middleweight
Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KOs), Liverpool, 122 ½ kilos
Marvin Solano (24-19 KOs), Cordoba, Spain through Managua, Nicaragua, 125.7 kilos
4 rounds, junior featherweight
Walter Fury (1-0, 0 KOs), Lancaster, Lancashire 156.1 kilos
Dale Arrowsmith (6-114-5, 1 KO) Hyde, Lancashire 155.1 kilos
4 rounds, junior middleweight
