RAYMOND Ford has found himself a new dance partner, in the form of Abraham Nova, saving Ford’s spot on the upcoming August 16 card. Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine has confirmed the news, meaning Anthony Cacace’s recent withdrawal, with a back injury, has not completely impacted Ford’s next outing.
While Nova is a more than adequate replacement, given the short-notice nature of events, previous form shows that he will have his work cut out in the Riyadh clash. Sporting a 21-3-1 (17 KOs) record, ‘El Super’ has seen his form dip of late, with two losses and a draw across his last four bouts.
The first of those two losses came in a world title crack at O’Shaquie Foster, which resulted in a narrow split decision reverse.
The second was at the hands of unbeaten Andres Cortes (21-0). A late 2024 draw with Humberto Galindo was more of a concern, although motivation may have been a factor, with such a step down in levels. Nova’s first career loss came to Robeisy Ramirez, when he was stopped in five.
Raymond Ford, 17-1-1 (8 KOs), was originally scheduled to box former IBF super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace before moving on to a crack at current IBF king Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez. Ford was confident of blasting through the Belfastman and already had world title glory in his sights.
The Camden craftsman has won twice since losing his WBA featherweight title to Nick Ball in Riyadh. He’ll be hoping a return to Saudi doesn’t bring further bad luck on the cards when he takes on Nova as part of a card headlined by Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte.
