On Saturday evening, NICK Ball will headline the gala at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, where he will make the first defense of the WBA featherweight title. American Ronny Rios arrives as a title challenger. “Wrecking” Ball became a fan favorite due to his explosive striking style and ability to apply pressure.

Ball’s fight with Ray Ford was a classic fight, which he won by split decision in Riyad. Rios is a competent fighter, but he has been stopped in three of his four losses and will wait to be hit. That’s why it’s tough to look beyond stopping the ball, perhaps after a brief penalty shootout.

It will be a tough challenge for Ronny, who was absent from the ring for nearly two years as a 122-pounder before Nicolas Polanco stopped the fight in the fifth round in April.

It’s tough to find any argument for Rios to last the distance, let alone win the competition. In 2019, he actually pulled off a bit of a surprise, beating prospect Diego De La Hoya 21-0 in six rounds. However, he performed terribly against better boys.

Both teams have a common opponent. Ball drew with Rey Vargas two fights ago, and Rios lost to Vargas by unanimous decision in 2017. After each defeat, Rios always found a way back to the world’s top ranks, but was never able to win there.

Boxing news betting tips

Nick Ball will win by KO/TKO in rounds 5-8, 13/8

Nick Ball will win the fight/under 7.5 rounds @ 5/6

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Mike Tyson was told that returning to fight at the age of 58 was an empty joke in boxing.

Tyson can’t really win if he crushes Jake Paul or gets knocked out himself.

Another former UFC star turned analyst weighed in on the Tyson debate as Daniel Cormier offered his views on the controversial fight.

Tyson will wear his professional gloves on November 15, nineteen years and more since his last appearance. Despite “Iron” Mike losing his previous two contests by knockout, YouTuber Paul sees Tyson as a cash opportunity to gain some recognition.

However, Cormier joined many voices who believe that both men have no chance of winning this fight. The only advantage of the entire Netflix event is money, which is no reason to create such an antagonist, since both men are already millionaires.

On his “Funky and the Champ” show, Cormier discussed Tyson’s smokescreen training videos, saying, “I understand that [he looks good at 58]and I understand what he is saying [he feels great].

“I agree when he hits the pads with Rafael Cordeiro. It looks like there’s still something left there. But then I see Jake Paul fighting Mike Perry. I saw Jake Paul get overwhelmed to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable. It looked like Mike Perry had a chance. But Jake has a reserve tank he can go to and benefit from because he’s 28 years antique. Then he comes back and finally finishes Mike Perry.

“At the beginning of the fight, Mike Perry gets beaten up and dropped. He looks trained and unmatched. This worries me because what if it looks like a 58-year-old man fighting a 28-year-old man while Mike can’t exploit the backup tank to stay and compete with this newborn kid? I think it’s a failure for Jake Paul because if you beat Mike Tyson, everyone will love him.

“What if Mike knocks him out? It’s over,” Cormier added. “Everything is ready. This would be the backfire of all time. If he gets knocked out, nothing like that has ever happened in the history of the sport.”

Paul has eight two-minute rounds to get the job done, while the consensus is that Tyson only has three before he starts blowing tough and has difficulty keeping up.

The only comparison fight fans have made to the Paul vs. Tyson fight is when Evander Holyfield returned to action at the same age as Tyson in 2021. Facing Vitor Belfort, who was twenty years older than Paul at the time, Holyfield lasted only 109 seconds.

Mike is in deep crisis and must get out of the fight or destroy his opponent to gain any recognition.

Senior Tyson would have beaten that opponent in a matter of seconds. Therefore, he must prove that it is not just about money.

An audience of millions will watch to decide his ultimate legacy.

Janibek Alimkhanuly not only stepped on the scale this time, but passed the scale comfortably.

The unified 160-pound title weighed 159 ½ pounds, while mandatory IBF title challenger Andrei Mikhailovich weighed 159.9 pounds. Their fight will headline Friday’s ESPN+ show on The Star in Sydney, Australia.

Both fighters must still pass day two of the IBF hydration check, during which they must weigh no more than 170 pounds. IBF regulations require that participants in title and elimination fights weigh no more than 10 pounds over the established limit when weighing in on fight day.

Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 knockout) is the IBF WBO champion. However, Fresh Zealander Mihajłowicz (21-0, 13 KO) refused to fight for the WBO title and has only a chance to win the IBF belt.

Alimkhanuly will retain both titles if he wins. A defeat would see Mikhailovich take home the IBF title, while the WBO belt would remain vacant.

The Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich gala was previously scheduled to take place on July 13 in Las Vegas. The fight was canceled before the pre-fight weigh-in when Alimkhanuly was hospitalized with dehydration.

As a result, Mikhailovich was left without a fight. Alimkhanuly was then summoned by the WBO – whose title he also holds – to provide medical evidence as to what led to his dehydration and whether he was fit to resume his reign.

Meanwhile, the IBF intervened and put the fight back on the table. This case was an epic moment for the #PurseBidHeads sports faction. No Limit Boxing, Mikhailovich’s promoter, outbid Top Rank by just $1,000 ($351,000-$350,000) to win the rights to the fight scheduled for September 3.

Alimkhanuly is making his fourth attempt to defend his title in the general classification and the first in the history of the IBF belt. He knocked out undefeated Vincent Gualtieri in the sixth round of their IBF/WBO unification fight on October 14 in Rosenberg, Texas.

Mikhajłowicz (21-0, 13 KO) starts his first title fight in his career. The timing means he will fight for one belt instead of two, although it was presumed the tactic was intentional this time. Under IBF rules, unified world titles are not subject to weight control on the same day, but only when more than one title is at stake. This is not the case here, which resulted in Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich being bound by IBF rules to the letter of the law.

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