Nick Ball Floors Ronny Rios Three Times, Earns 10th Round Stoppage To Retain WBA Featherweight Title
A homecoming turned into a rout for one of the sport’s most active titlists.
Nick Ball lived up to his ‘Wrecking’ ring moniker with a tenth-round technical knockout of former title challenger Ronny Rios. Three knockdowns on the night forced the stoppage at 2:06 of round ten Saturday night at M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.
The TNT Sports/ESPN+ main event marked the first local appearance for Ball (21-0-1, 12 knockouts) since Feb. 2020 and his first WBA featherweight title defense. Admittedly, the squat featherweight found himself playing to his adoring fans.
“What a massive turnout” Ball told TNT Sports’ Becky Ives after his win. “To be honest, I think I got carried away with how good the card was and got hit with a few too many shots.”
The actual fight part of the night didn’t seem to bother Ball at all, even as he had to contend with a leaky nose. Rios was forced into a defensive shell early in the night, although he found early success with his jab and left hook to the body.
Ball, 27, unloaded with a barrage of punches powered by lead uppercuts in the third round. Rios did his best to cover up but was eventually willed to the canvas for the first of three knockdowns on the night. The 34-year-old Santa Ana, California native bravely soldiered on during his third attempt at a major title.
Rios enjoyed his best round of the fight in the fifth. Ball’s face from the nose down was masked in blood, splattered all over his chest as well. Rios steadily targeted the defending titlist’s squat frame, while Ball’s offense slowed down at least compared to his earlier outburst.
The momentum was short-lived as Ball went back on the attack in the sixth. Rios found himself on the canvas for a second time early in round seven. The visiting American protested the call, as the sequence began with a cupping left hook behind his head. Referee Bob Williams nevertheless issued a count before he allowed action to continue.
Ball was steady with his offense in rounds eight and nine before he closed the show in the tenth. Rios (34-5, 17 KOs) was repeatedly caught with looping right hands and left uppercuts before he was sent through the ropes. He bravely made it to his feet and beat the count but his corner literally threw in the towel.
It marked the end of the third and likely final chance for Rios to contend for a major title.
He came up short in an Aug. 2017 bid versus Rey Vargas, the unbeaten WBC 122-pound titlist at the time. A sixth-round knockout loss to Azat Hovhannisyan less than eight months later threatened to leave him on the outside looking in at junior featherweight.
Rios rebounded with four straight wins to become the WBA mandatory. His twice-delayed shot versus then unbeaten WBA/IBF 122-pound Murodjon Akhmadaliev finally came through in June 2022. Rios was stopped in the 12th and final round.
Nearly two years passed before Rios returned to the ring and the win column. He defeated Nicolas Polanco (21-5-1 at the time) on April 24 at Probox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Meanwhile, Ball’s stock has never soared higher. The win was his fourth high profile affair all in the past eleven months.
Ball claimed the belt in a thrilling 12-round win over unbeaten Raymond Ford on June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout came just three months after most considered Ball unlucky to settle for a draw in the same venue versus Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) in their WBC featherweight title fight.
There was a brief moment before Ball had to hear the words “… and the new.” Ford won 115-113 on one card, overruled by the same scores for Ball with the other two judges. Their Fight of the Year candidate was that competitive but saw the title head to the UK in the end.
Ball was graned a well-deserved homecoming for the occasion. Now the hope is to land the other divisional titlists—and perhaps Naoya Inoue (28-0. 25 KOs), The Ring/undisputed 122-pound champ just one division south.
“Just the ones with the belts. I got one of four,” Ball said of his desired future options. “There are three more out there. It would be nice to get them and Inoue.”
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