Recently, it has been revealed that Nick Ball’s upcoming fight will be held in his hometown of Liverpool, and he now has a confirmed opponent.
At 27 years old, Ball is the current WBA featherweight champion, having claimed the title in a spirited match against Raymond Ford on June 1. According to ESPN, Ball’s first title defense will be against the experienced Ronny Rios on October 5. An official announcement is expected soon.
Rios had been inactive for 22 months since June 2022, following a defeat to then IBF super-bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev. However, the 34-year-old made a comeback four months ago with a knockout victory over Nicolas Polanco in the fifth round.
Ball is expected to be the clear favorite to defend his title and has aspirations of unifying the 126lb division by challenging other champions such as Rafael Espinoza (WBO), Angelo Leo (IBF), and Rey Vargas (WBC). Vargas had previously retained his title against Ball in a split-draw match in March.
In an interview with Boxing News published on August 1, the new WBA champion reflected on his past defeat, saying, “You learn little things about yourself in moments like that, how you handle them and how you go forward and how you deal with them. I always knew another chance would come.”
Ball envisions a future fight at Anfield, the stadium of Liverpool Football Club, and is open to a high-profile matchup against Japanese star Naoya Inoue, the current undisputed super-bantamweight champion.
A product of the successful Everton Red Triangle gym, Ball’s gym-mate and the current British bantamweight champion Andrew Cain will also be fighting on the undercard.