A homecoming has become a rout for one of the sport’s most active title rosters.
Nick Ball lived up to his ‘Wrecking’ ring name with a tenth-round TKO of former title challenger Ronny Rios. Three strikes on the night forced the stoppage at 2:06 of round ten on Saturday night at M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.
The TNT Sports/ESPN+ main event marked the first domestic appearance for Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) since February 2020 and his first WBA featherweight title defense. Admittedly, the squat featherweight found himself playing to his adoring fans.
“What a massive turnout,” Ball told TNT Sports’ Becky Ives after his win. “To be honest, I think I got carried away with how good the card was and hit a few too many shots.”
The actual fight part of the night didn’t seem to bother Ball at all, even if he had to contend with a leaky nose. Rios was forced into a defensive shell early in the night, though he found early success with his jab and left hook to the body.
Ball, 27, unloaded in the third round with a barrage of punches powered by lead beans. Rios did his best to cover up, but ended up on the canvas willingly for the first of three takedowns on the night. The 34-year-old native of Santa Ana, Calif., continued valiantly during his third attempt at a major title.
Rios enjoyed his best round of the fight in the fifth. Ball’s face from the nose down was masked in blood, also spattered over his chest. Rios constantly targeted the defending titleholder’s crouch, while Ball’s offense at least slowed down compared to his earlier outburst.
The momentum was short-lived as Ball returned to the offense in the sixth. Rios found himself on the canvas for a second time early in round seven. The visiting American protested the call as the series began with a cupped left hook to the back of his head. Nevertheless, referee Bob Williams issued a count before allowing action to continue.
Ball was steady with his offense in rounds eight and nine before ending the show in the tenth. Rios (34-5, 17 KOs) was repeatedly caught with looping right hands and left uppercuts before being sent through the ropes. He bravely got to his feet and beat the score, but his corner literally threw in the towel.
It was the end of the third and probably last chance for Rios to compete for a major title.
He came up short in an August 2017 bid against Rey Vargas, the then-undefeated WBC 122-pound titlist. A sixth-round knockout loss to Azat Hovhannisyan less than eight months later threatened to put him on the outside looking in at junior featherweight.
Rios rebounded with four straight wins to become the WBA Mandatory. His twice-delayed shot against then-undefeated WBA/IBF 122-pounder Murodjon Akhmadaliev finally came through in June 2022. Rios was stopped in the 12th and final round.
Almost two years passed before Rios returned to the ring and the win column. He defeated Nicolas Polanco (then 21-5-1) on April 24 at the Probox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Meanwhile, Ball’s stock has never risen higher. The victory was his fourth high-profile affair in the past eleven months.
Ball claimed the belt in a thrilling 12-round victory over undefeated Raymond Ford on June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight came just three months after most considered Ball unlucky to settle for a draw in the same venue against Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) in their WBC featherweight title fight.
There was a brief moment before Ball had to hear the words “… and the new.” Ford won 115-113 on one card, outscoring Ball by the same scores with the other two judges. Their Fight of the Year contender was so competitive, but eventually saw the title go to the UK.
Ball was given a well-deserved homecoming for the occasion. Now the hope is to land the other division titles – and maybe Naoya Inoue (28-0. 25 KOs), The Ring / undisputed 122-pound champion just one division south.
“Only the ones with the belts. I got one out of four,” Ball said of his desired future options. “There are three more out there. It would be nice to get them and Inoue.”
