Fighter of the Week (5/27-6/2): Nick Ball
The little engine that could become the little engine that did, 5 foot 2 inches tall wrecking back Nick "Wrecking" Ball of Liverpool, England, became a world champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ball, who came up just short in his first title bid against Rey Vargas back in March and had to settle for a draw, finally set the record straight and accomplished his mission as he outpointed Raymond Ford of Camden, New Jersey, to capture the WBA Featherweight world in what appeared to be the front runner for "Fight of the Year" and moved his record to 20-0-1 (11) and takes home our "Fighter of the Week'' award.
The little engine from England was not going to be denied a world title for the second time. Ball got cooking early and never took a foot off the gas in a thrilling back-and-forth war. Both pressured the champion in the early rounds, and it paid off as a right hook shook the New Jerseyan in the second. Ford didn't use his legs as much as expected but continually worked his jab and had success throughout. However, the Brit's work rate was superior and was winning him rounds against the sharper and more skilled champion. Scoring in combination Ball seemed to take a lead on the cards in the early rounds. A solid uppercut cemented that at the end of the 5th. Ford seized momentum in the seventh, scoring with a big left hand in the seventh that shook him, and another left uppercut rocked him in the eighth and perhaps evened the fight after a strong ninth round. However, Ball got a second wind and picked up the pressure. He scored in combinations as Ford began to fade. Ball closed the show well and eeked out the split decision. In the end, the judges favored the aggression and come forward style of Ball by a score of 115-113 x2 with the third judge favoring Ford by the same 115-112 score. Post-fight Ball said "I should be a two-time champion, but I'm champ now so it doesn't matter...My style is all action and putting pressure on. I did that well and it paid off."
The logical next fight for the Liverpool native would be a rematch with Ford, given how close and competitive the first fight was. However, with Ford likely moving up to 130 pounds and Ball being only 5'2 and comfortable making 126, the odds of him moving up to 130 seems unlikely. So his next fight will likely be a defense of his WBA crown, and Edward Vazquez would be a worthy candidate and a very makeable fight. Two other fights that would make a lot of sense would be unification fights with IBF champ Luis Alberto Lopez or WBO world champion Rafael Espinoza. Either fight would be extremely winnable and would make Ball a unified featherweight champ should he win.
