WBA featherweight world champion Nick Ball defends his title against TJ Doheny in Liverpool.
Nick Ball has successfully defended his WBA featherweight world title, forcing TJ Doheny to retire. The fight took place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and ended after ten rounds with Ball (22-0-1, 13 knockouts) defending his title with another early win.
Former world champion TJ Doheny (26-6, 20 knockouts) suffered his second consecutive defeat by knockout. The Irishman was already defeated by Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue last year. Against Ball, Doheny was mostly on the retreat and tried to neutralize his opponent’s aggressive pressure with clever movements.
Ball dominated large parts of the fight and put Doheny in trouble several times. Doheny had to go down twice, but both knockdowns were counted as pushes by referee Michael Alexander. Ball was deducted a point in round nine, but he remained the dominant man in the ring in this round too. The Brit’s pressure finally made itself felt in round ten: Doheny had visible swelling on his face and could barely withstand the attacks. He bravely reached the end of the round, but his trainer pulled the ripcord and ended the fight.
Promoter Frank Warren already has big plans for Ball and wants him to fight Naoya Inoue later this year. The undisputed world super bantamweight champion is planning to move up to featherweight to take on new challenges. However, before a possible duel with Ball, Inoue will defend his titles against Ramon Cardenas on May 4 in Las Vegas.