Nick Ball is ready for his first title defense.
The squat WBA featherweight beltholder was at weight, as was challenger Ronny Rios for their scheduled 12-round bout.
Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) checked in at a stacked 125.1 pounds for the event. Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) weighed in at 125.6 pounds ahead of his third career title bid.
Their game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports in the UK and ESPN+ in the US from M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.
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 WBC titlist Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs).
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 now gets a well-deserved homecoming for the event. The fight is his first in Liverpool since February 2020.
Rios, 34, travels abroad for what is believed to be his likely last shot at a major title.
The Santa Ana, Calif., native came up short in an August 2017 bid against 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.
ESPN+/TNT Sports Undercard 1 (7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET)
Henry Turner (13-0, 5 KOs), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, 139.7 lbs
Jack Rafferty (23-0, 14 KOs), Manchester, Lancashire, UK, 139.7 lbs
12 rounds, lightweight
Andrew Cain (12-1, 11 KOs), Liverpool, 117.1 lbs
Lazaro Casseres (11-1, 4 KOs), Mahates, Colombia, 116.1 lbs
10 rounds, bantamweight
Jadier Herrera (15-0, 13 KOs), Dubai via Camaguey, Cuba, 134 lbs
Oliver Flores (31-5, 20 KOs), Leon, Nicaragua, 134.6 lbs
10 rounds, lightweight
Jack Turner (8-0, 7 KOs), Liverpool, 120.1 lbs
Gonzalo Corinaldesi (5-6-1, 1 KO) Alta Gracia, Argentina, 118.1 pounds
6 rounds, bantamweight
Preliminary submap
Nelson Birchall (5-0, 2 KOs), Morecambe, Lancashire, 130 ½ lbs
Mark Butler (3-12, 1 KO), Brighton, Sussex, UK, 129.9 lbs
6 rounds, junior lightweight
Lucas Biswana (pro debut), Liverpool, 145.1 lbs
Jakub Laskowski (4-31-1, 2 KOs), Siemianowice Slaskie, Poland, 144.1 pounds
4 rounds, welterweight
James McGivern (9-0, 3 KOs), Belfast, Northern Ireland, 135.1 lbs
Requen Facundo Arce (17-16-2, 7 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 135.4 pounds
8 rounds, lightweight
Joe Cooper (1-0, 0 KOs), Essex, UK, 159.1 lbs
Lukasz Barabasz (4-13, 2 KOs), Mikolow, Poland, 159.1 pounds
4 rounds, middleweight
Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KOs), Liverpool, 122 ½ lbs
Marvin Solano (24-19 KOs), Cordoba, Spain via Managua, Nicaragua, 125.7 pounds
4 rounds, junior featherweight
Walter Fury (1-0, 0 KOs), Lancaster, Lancashire 156.1 lbs
Dale Arrowsmith (6-114-5, 1 KO) Hyde, Lancashire 155.1 lbs
4 rounds, junior middleweight
