FRANK Warren has named three fights he wants to make in 2025, one of which being a mouth-watering showdown between Nick Ball and Naoya Inoue.
Two-division undisputed king Inoue, 29-0 (26 KOs), resumed his dominance at super-bantamweight last Friday, producing a destructive fourth-round stoppage victory over late notice opponent Ye Joon Kim.
The Japanese sensation was supposed to square off against IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman who, for the second time, pulled out of their contest with an eye injury.
Nevertheless, shortly after the 31-year-old dispatched Kim, his promoter, Top Rank boss Bob Arum, insisted that Inoue will headline a show in Las Vegas, Nevada, this spring.
The most likely opponent for Inoue’s upcoming date is WBC mandatory challenger David Picasso, while former unified champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev still awaits his opportunity.
WBA interim titlist Akhmadaliev has, in fact, twice been ordered to face ‘The Monster’ but, on both occasions, the sanctioning body granted exemptions to their champion.
And yet, despite the pound-for-pound star’s mandatory obligations, Queensberry promoter Warren has told DAZN that he would like to make a fight between Inoue and Ball, 21-0-1 (12 KOs).
Ball comes off a dominant tenth-round stoppage victory over Ronny Rios, successfully defending the WBA featherweight strap he claimed after edging a split decision against Raymond Ford.
But now, the Brit is gearing up for his second title defence against TJ Doheny, a recent victim of Inoue’s, at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, on March 15.
Should both champions come through their next assignments, though, a dustup between the pair could be in the works for later this year.
