NICK BALL must put his unification ambitions on hold, at least for the time being, as he is instead set to face mandatory challenger Brandon Figueroa before long.
‘The Wrecking Ball’ retained his WBA world featherweight title in August, putting on a tidy display to outpoint Sam Goodman in a decently competitive contest.
Before that, the Liverpudlian made two routine defences of his strap against TJ Doheny and Ronny Rios, taking care of business with a 10th-round finish on both occasions.
All the while, fans have been clamouring for Ball, 23-0-1 (13 KOs), to enter a unification showdown with any of the three remaining champions, including WBO belt-holder Rafael Espinoza, whose sheer height would make for a classic tall vs small encounter.
But now, it would appear that the 28-year-old is likely to face Figueroa, 26-2-1 (19 KOs) – another rangy customer at 126lbs – in his next outing, with both parties having been given until November 12 to reach an agreement.
Should they fail to get a deal over the line, the WBA is then poised to schedule a purse bid hearing for Ball’s mandatory title defence.
Regarding Figueroa’s position, meanwhile, he seemingly earned himself a leading contender status with the sanctioning body following his points victory over Joet Gonzalez in July.
Prior to that, the American amassed a solid run of wins against Carlos Castro, Mark Magsayo and Jessie Magdaleno, only to then suffer a second defeat to WBC champion Stephen Fulton last February.
Their first encounter took place in 2021, back when Figueroa entered their showdown as the WBC world super-bantamweight champion before losing a majority decision.
Now up at featherweight, the 28-year-old certainly appears to have taken to his new division like a duck to water, while Ball, who claimed his WBA title against Raymond Ford in June 2024, should hardly be surprised that his mandatory obligation has finally been enforced.
