Nick Ball puts his WBA Featherweight World title on the line against Brandon Figueroa tonight in Liverpool, looking to make the fourth successful defence of the belt in front of a hometown crowd.
Ball is one of six British male world champions, but he stood alone at one stage with the UK on his back. Though he is now joined by Dalton Smith, Lewis Crocker, Josh Kelly, Jazza Dickens and Fabio Wardley, the relentless puncher from Liverpool still welcomes the pressure at the top.
He has, as the event is billed, a tall task in Figueroa, who towers over the champion by seven inches and looks to spoil tonight’s party in The Pool. Boxing News brings you the undercard results, summaries and a live scorecard for the headline bout.
Undercard results
Brad Strand vs Ruben Lezama Gonzalez — Super bantamweight
Result: Strand RTD R3. Methodical from Brad Strand from the first bell. He stops his man in the third, taking the wind out of him with a body shot and follow up with a barrage of punches that forced Gonzalez’ corner to throw in the towel.
Hassan Ishaq vs Leonardo Baez — Featherweight
Result: – Ishaq TKO R3. Straightforward for Ishaq, who scores his third stoppage win in three fights. He looked sharp and powerful in there, though Baez really wasn’t up to much.
Andrew Cain vs Alejandro Gonzalez — Bantamweight
Result: Cain TKO R9. A well-matched affair. Gonzalez scored two body shot knockdowns in the eighth. Cain did well to come back out in the ninth, never mind score a knockdown of his own in the first minute. He refused to relent and put the Mexican down for a second time. Gonzalez, with a burst eye, walked towards the corner during the count and saw it waved off by by referee Mark Gates. An impressive win for Cain, who deserves the world title shot that should come off the back of it.
Jack Turner vs Juan Carlos Martinez Urbina — Super flyweight
Result: Turner RTD R3. Jack Turner scores his 13th stoppage in 14 fights. It was all ‘El Terrier’, who scored a knockdown in the first and beat the fight out of Urbina – who had a point off in the third for consistent holding – leading his corner to stop the fight after the third. On to bigger things for KO artist Turner, who is a ruthless addition to the lower weight classes.
Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa scorecard and result
This is a Boxing News live scorecard and not the official score from the judges.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 104 | |
| Figueroa | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 105 |
Result: Figueroa TKO R12. A thrilling fight from start to finish, and a tough one to score. Ball’s trademark style was as eye-catching as always, but Figueroa peppered away at the body and worked at a steadier pace. The scorecards may have been all over the place had it come to it, but the challenger landed a thunderous left hook during an exchange in the final round and put the champion down. Ball rose to his feet and fought on, but another few well-placed shots and he was knocked over again and through the ropes. A good stoppage from referee Steve Gray. Heartbreak for Ball, elation for three-time world champion Figueroa and a real win for boxing fans.
