NICK BALL ANALYZES FIGUEROA’S HIGH-VOLUME STYLE AHEAD OF LIVERPOOL HOMECOMING FIGHT TODAY
WBA champ Nick Ball returns to Liverpool on February 7 to defend his title against Brandon Figueroa. Read the full fight preview.
Nick Ball Thinks Brandon Figueroa is Similar, But He's Still Better
LIVERPOOL, England — Nick Ball, the WBA featherweight world champ, is back and ready to go.
Sitting at Liverpool’s BoxPark, he glanced at the screens showing his February 7 title defence against Brandon Figueroa.
“This is going to be good, yeah?” Ball (23-0-1, 13 KOs) said before the press conference.
“You don’t get to be a two-weight world champion by being bad. He fights kinda like me—well, he’s about to find out he’s nothing like me—but I see where people make the comparisons.”
After a controversial draw with WBC champ Rey Vargas, he came back and beat Raymond Ford to grab the WBA title just three months later.
Riding that wave, Ball came back to Liverpool and stopped Ronny Rios and TJ Doheny. Then, in August, he won against Sam Goodman from Australia.
Ball did enough to beat Goodman, but he wasn't at his best.
After a bunch of training camps, Ball chilled out for a bit, and the idea of fighting Figueroa (26-2-1, 19 KOs) has him excited like he was before the Vargas and Ford fights.
“It’s on,” he said.
“You have to be on it for every fight. Your life is on the line, especially against a fighter like this. Gotta listen to your team and stick to what you know.”
Ball is good at pushing his style on his opponents.
Figueroa, despite being 5-foot-9, will ditch his height and reach advantage to brawl up close. Back in July, he threw over 1,000 punches to beat Joet Gonzalez in their WBA title eliminator.
Ball won’t have to get Figueroa to trade blows. The guy will be in Liverpool looking for a fight.
“Yeah, he is,” Ball said. “He’s coming to Liverpool to take my belt. This is his shot at a world title. Of course, he’s going to try.
Will he win? Ball asked, smiling. “Who knows?”
Ball, 28, has been a world champ longer than any other Brit right now. He also stays out of the spotlight. He’s not all over social media and usually only shows up to support his teammates from the Everton Red Triangle Gym.
Figueroa would be a big name on Ball’s growing record.
Other fighters who haven’t done as much as him get way more attention, but Ball doesn’t care about the rankings.
“Not for me to say. That’s up to you guys and the fans,” he said.
“I think I’m an exciting fighter. People like to watch fighters who go all out.
“Everyone’s got their own ideas. Some will say it, some won’t. Doesn’t matter. I’m just going to keep doing my thing.”
NAOYA INOUE SURVIVES JUNTO NAKATANI CHALLENGE TO KEEP UNDISPUTED FEATHERWEIGHT CROWN
Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed junior featherweight title in a classic unanimous decision victory over Junto Nakatani in Tokyo.
Naoya Inoue showed up at the Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama with a big smile on his face; everyone could tell he was riding high after last night’s fights.
He sat next to his brother, Takuma Inoue, the WBC bantamweight champ, and both of them had just defended their world titles at the Tokyo Dome. For Naoya, the night was all about facing his toughest opponent yet at junior featherweight. He managed to edge out Junto Nakatani in a fight that went back and forth and walked away with a unanimous decision to keep his undisputed crown.
This was a huge deal: two guys from Kanagawa squaring off in what people called the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. Honestly, the match delivered. The momentum swung between them; both had their moments. In the end, Inoue did just enough to pull ahead on the scorecards.
After such a close fight, everyone’s talking about a rematch. Nakatani seemed to be finding his rhythm in the middle rounds, but then there was an accidental head clash in the 10th that cut him. That’s when Inoue took control and finished strong.
“I’m not sure yet. If enough people want it, a rematch could happen." Inoue said he’s now 33-0, with 27 KOs. “Like I said last night, I’ve got options, but nothing is decided. I’m thinking about a new stage, and I’ll talk with Mr Ohashi about that.”
That “new stage” probably means moving up in weight. But judging by Saturday, he might still have business to settle in his own division.
There was one moment that summed up the fight. Both guys were trading punches at a high level, slipping and countering at the same time. Nobody landed, and they stopped to share a quick smile. It was surreal, but it showed just how much respect they had for each other.
“I was fighting while really feeling Nakatani’s skill and spirit,” Inoue said. “I’m pretty sure he felt the same. We both enjoyed that little space where neither could hit the other. That smile just happened.”
Despite all the mutual respect, Inoue took over when he had to. After Nakatani got cut in the 10th, Inoue had his best round; he hurt Nakatani several times and messed up his orbital bone with a sharp left hand.
“I didn’t go in with the sole intention to knock him out,” Inoue admitted. “It was complicated, a feeling I’ve never had before.”
DAVID BENAVIDEZ KNOCKS OUT ZURDO RAMIREZ TO UNIFY WBA AND WBO BELTS
David Benavidez captured the WBA/WBO cruiserweight titles with a 6th-round TKO of Zurdo Ramirez before calling out Canelo Alvarez.
David Benavidez put on an unforgettable show Saturday night, stopping Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez in the sixth round at T-Mobile Arena to grab the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts.
Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) jumped up to cruiserweight after winning belts at super middleweight and light heavyweight, and he didn’t just win; he dominated. Mike Tyson dubbed him the “Mexican Monster", and honestly, Benavidez lived up to that name.
"My combination, my punch selection, is unlike anything else," Benavidez said. "Whoever it is, man, I don't care who it is: nobody can f--- with me."
At 29, Benavidez came in ranked No. 5 pound-for-pound by ESPN, but for years, he’s wanted to snatch the Mexican holiday spotlight from Canelo Alvarez. He’s chased that fight for ages.
This time, he finally got to headline on Cinco de Mayo weekend, facing another Mexican star. And with the beating he laid on Ramirez, Benavidez might have just snatched the title of Mexico’s top boxer.
Afterwards, a Golden Boy Promotions spokesperson confirmed Ramirez was taken to the hospital for a head scan. "He's in good spirits and has a swollen eye," the spokesperson said. "There's no determination of a fracture at this point."
Ramirez (48-2, 30 KOs) had only lost once before against Dmitry Bivol in 2022 for the WBA light heavyweight title. He’d been rolling at cruiserweight, piecing together four straight wins and hauling in two titles. But against Benavidez, Ramirez just couldn’t keep up with the blistering hand speed.
"I knew that the combination was going to be able to land easily," Benavidez said.
The way Benavidez broke Ramirez down was something else. He kept finding openings, landing combo after combo, pounding away until the crowd couldn’t help but react.
These two actually go way back. When Benavidez was 19, he sparred with Ramirez close to 300 rounds, apparently when Ramirez was prepping for Arthur Abraham in 2016. But real fights are a different world. Ramirez learned that the hard way Saturday night, leaving the ring with his right eye nearly swollen shut.
"I love Ramirez. We came up together," Benavidez said. "I'm kind of sad it had to happen like this. I love 'Zurdo' Ramirez, but that's what it is in here. There's only one 'Monstro'."
From the opening bell, Benavidez wouldn’t give Ramirez any space, picking his shots and then letting his speed loose, which has always set him apart. By the fourth, Benavidez started landing at will. He rocked Ramirez with an uppercut that put him on his heels, then pounced, firing off a flurry that forced Ramirez to take a knee.
Ramirez pulled himself together for the fifth round, but Benavidez just waited for his next chance. In the sixth, Benavidez battered him again with uppercuts; another brutal combo had Ramirez staggering, his eye swelling as the ref waved it off with a second left in the round.
With this win, Benavidez looks ready to stay at cruiser weight. Still, he used the moment to call out Canelo Alvarez, who was watching at ringside.
"I just want to give the fans what they want to see," Benavidez said. "I see Canelo in the building. Hey, let me just ask the fans this: Do you guys want to see Canelo versus David Benavidez? Enough said. That means that we can't leave that fight on the table. And I respect Canelo. He's a good champion. But I'm a great champion too. Let's do it."
Sure, a fight with Alvarez would be huge. But honestly, after the way Benavidez dominated here, nobody knows if Canelo will actually want to risk it. Canelo fights at super middleweight, and Benavidez probably isn’t dropping back to 168 pounds after this.
Still, Benavidez took his swing, then made it clear he’s coming for Dmitry Bivol as well.
"Bivol is No. 1 on my hit list," Benavidez said. "Bivol is a great competitor, a great champion. But I'm a great champion too. I just want to test myself every single fight."
