Nick Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) retained his WBA featherweight title with a tenth-round knockout win over #7 ranked Ronny Rios (34-5-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday evening on the M&S Financial institution Enviornment in Liverpool, England.
In his first protection of his WBA 126-lb title, Ball knocked the 34-year-old Rios out of the ring within the tenth spherical. Rios’ nook then had the battle halted as he was being helped again into the ring by the referee. The time of the stoppage was at 2:06 within the tenth.
Rios Took a Beating in tenth
Ball had shoved the badly fatigued Rios to the nook, then clipped with an exquisite right-hand rabbit punch to the again of the pinnacle, after which unloaded with a barrage of punches to knock him out of the ring.
When Rios acquired again into the ring, it was clear that he was in no form to proceed preventing. He was damage and drained. Instantly after the battle, Rios left the ring, which is comprehensible as a result of he’d taken a nasty beating.
Rios was dropped within the third and the seventh spherical by Ball. The knockdown within the seventh was precise push, however the referee blew the decision. It was stunning that Rios made it out of the third spherical as a result of he took a shellacking from Ball.
Rios acquired his pound of flesh within the battle, bloodying Ball’s nostril within the third spherical, marking up his proper eye, and touchdown a number of laborious physique photographs. Greater than as soon as, Ball seemed damage from the laborious punches to the midsection that Rios had hit him with within the contest. Rios confirmed that Ball has a vulnerability to taking physique photographs.
Rios got here again within the fourth and fifth to get the higher of Ball with jabs to his bloody nostril and photographs to the midsection. Ball continued to battle laborious, however he wasn’t as efficient in these rounds.
Ball fought effectively within the sixth, crowding Rios, touchdown uppercuts, many rabbit punches, and hooks to the pinnacle. He did a number of shoving and shouldering of Rios, which clearly he ought to have been warned for. Ball is a roughhouse fighter, so rabbit punches, shoving, and different niceties are a part of his instruments of the commerce.
It was a great efficiency from the 34-year-old Ronny Rios, who was introduced in a voluntary protection for Ball. He was picked from the #7 spot, and clearly for Ball to shine, however he gave him a number of bother.
This was a tougher battle for Ball than his latest ones towards Raymond Ford and Rey Vargas. Ball didn’t take wherever close to the identical form of punishment in these two fights as he did tonight towards Rios, who confirmed that he may punch. If Rios had let his arms go extra, Ball would have been in bother tonight as a result of he was bothered by his physique punching, and his nostril was gone after the third. You possibly can inform that the headshots bothered Ball due to his badly bleeding nostril.
Ball’s Fouling Was out of Hand
The referee may have completed a greater job policing Nick Ball’s rabbit punches, shoving and shouldering tonight as a result of it was blatant. It was fixed. The rabbit photographs had been like rain from Ball was it was stunning that the referee didn’t cease the motion to provide a warning or take off factors.
Ball’s experience with the unlawful rabbit photographs was splendid, however he shouldn’t have been allowed to make use of this tactic all through the competition. If Rios had gotten within the mud with Ball and began throwing comparable photographs, it will have been attention-grabbing to see what the referee would have completed.
“He’s a tricky man, and he got here again,” mentioned Nick Ball to TNT Sports activities after the battle. “My Nostril all the time goes. You’re going to get a bit little bit of a nosebleed, however that’s what makes a champion. I bounced again.”
