Whether or not reigning WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball is right now the best in the world at 126 pounds is of course down to opinion. But Ball, dubbed “The Wrecking Ball,” really is some fighter. As he showed last night against 38 year old veteran challenger, former IBF super-bantamweight champ TJ Doheny, Ball is a fighter who can overwhelm the other guy, this with his ferocious blend of speed, power, and relentlessness.
Last night, aided in an at times bad tempered fight by a kick and a shove, Ball beat the fight right out of the gutsy Doheny, 26-6(20), stopping him in the tenth round. In front of his home fans in Liverpool, Ball logged up the second defence of his WBA belt. And the future looks huge for him. There has been for some time now, talk of Ball fighting Japanese superstar and current P-4-P best (or top-three at least, depending on your view) Naoya Inoue.
Inoue has yet to make the move to featherweight, but plenty of people feel “The Monster” will invade the 126 pound division in time. And Ball, 22-0-1(13) might be the man to welcome Inoue to the featherweight division…..and maybe hand him his first loss.
Carl Frampton, a great fighter and former champ who has made the transition to pundit with apparent ease, said last night on TNT Sports that he would favour Ball if he fought Inoue either later this year or early next year. Styles makes fights, Frampton points out, and Ball’s human buzz-saw style and approach would be all kinds of wrong for Inoue, Frampton suggested.
“I think that’s the fight, whether it’s in Japan or Vegas……I very much doubt we’re going to see Inoue in Liverpool,” Frampton said. “It’s a difficult fight. I might get slated…..[but] styles make fights and I think the style Ball has and the type of fighter he is could give someone like Inoue a lot of problems. And I would favour Nick Ball in that fight.”
Ball’s promoter Frank Warren stated on air that Ball is “the best featherweight in the world, bar none,” and the Queensbury boss echoed what Frampton said when he stated that a Ball-Inoue fight is the fight to try and make.
“If that happens it’ll be towards the end of the year or maybe early next year,” Warren said.
Ball will not “wait around” for Inoue, his promoter also said, and Ball is a genuine gym rat of a fighter who loves to stay active and fight. To this end there is always the risk of burnout, but 28 year old Ball hasn’t put a foot wrong in his career (aside from letting go with that kick of frustration in last night’s fight!) and his team clearly know what they are doing.
Who Ball will next fight will of course prove interesting, and as we know, Ball is never in a dull fight, it’s simply impossible due to the work-rate he has. But that super-fight with Inoue would be absolutely awesome to see, and Ball is full of belief he would bring “The Monster” down.
In terms of greatest British wins scored by a boxer, where would a Ball win over the mighty Inoue rank all-time!?
