Nick Ball has proved himself to be one of the greatest fighters in the world today, however, he had to face some adversity in his career.
Hailing from Liverpool, England, Ball made his professional debut in 2017, quickly becoming a notable name in the featherweight division.
Currently boasting a professional record of 21-0-1, no fighter has been able to get the better of ‘The Wrecking’ Ball.
Ready to take on former Naoya Inoue opponent TJ Doheny on March 15th, the 28-year-old will be aiming to make the second defense of his WBA World Featherweight title.
Although is currently a world champion, a controversial decision halted Ball’s achievement in 2024.
Nick Ball was involved in controversial draw for world title in 2024 against Rey Vargas
In March 2024, Ball would take his 19-0 record into a fight with Rey Vargas from Mexico, the WBC World Featherweight titleholder.
The two featherweights would meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in an stacked event that consisted of, Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou, Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker, and former Terence Crawford opponent Israil Madrimov.
Defending champion Vargas had a professional record of 36-1 going into the fight, having had an unsuccessful world super featherweight title attempt in his last outing.
The fight would go all 12 rounds, with the fight ending in a split draw, despite Ball scoring ninth and 11th-round knockdowns. The judges would score the contest 114-112, 113-113, and 110-116, meaning Vargas retained his title.
However, fans were unsatisfied with the result, feeling Ball had won the fight.
Among the comments online from fans included, “I’m Mexican. Vargas didn’t do enough to deserve that decision! I have been watching boxing for over 40 years!” and “Ball won that fight. I have had enough of these judges.”
However, Ball would get his hands on a world title just three months later, defeating Raymond Ford for the WBA World Featherweight title via decision.
- READ MORE: Nick Ball considers potential clash with Naoya Inoue after retaining WBA title against Ronny Rios
Frank Warren was outraged by Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball result
Boxing promoter Frank Warren let his feelings be known in the aftermath of Ball’s title challenge against Vargas.
Speaking in the ring after the fight, Warren said, “He won that fight!”
“We’re not crybabies; he won the fight. Listen to the crowd!”
Warren would then turn his attention to the crowd, asking them who they believed to have won the fight. Although the promoter felt that the Merseyside fighter had lost the opening rounds, he felt he had done enough to ultimately win the bout.
It was implied by Warren that the two would rematch, however, they never did.