Nick Ball has been told by his promoter Frank Warren to recover from the most demanding year of his career before considering his next move.

On Saturday at the M&S Arena in Liverpool, the 27-year-old stopped Ronny Rios in 10 rounds to defend his WBA featherweight title for the first time.

The hard-fought fight was his third in seven months after breaking into the world class for the first time in March with a draw against Rey Vargas. That happened in June, when he won the title against Raymond Ford, and on Saturday, when he defended it in his hometown.

Warren, who also promotes Daniel Dubois, compared Ball’s career to that of the heavyweight who turned his career around with victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, but while there is already speculation about a rematch between Dubois and Joshua, he declined to consider Ball’s career to 2025.

“He needs rest,” Warren told BoxingScene. “I don’t even think about it at the moment. He needs good rest. He had three really tough and arduous fights. I don’t remember anyone, apart from Daniel Dubois, who fought at such a high level. Over the course of seven months, he faced three world-class players. How many people do this?

“He needs a break and I want him to have a break and then come back with his batteries charged and see what the field is like. He’s an invigorating little bastard – probably one of the most invigorating players around.

“I don’t think he’ll be very cheerful [to rest] because it’s a fighting machine, but Paul [Stevenson]his coach, he’s a really sensible guy. We’ll talk and move on. But Paul knows what must be done.

“[Rios] made an impression on me. I knew he was a tough guy. I knew he would come to fight. Nick tried a little too rigid sometimes; I would like to see him utilize the jab more often; he has a great jab; when he uses it, it’s of a different class. He’s a handful of fighters and I can’t think of any fighter he hasn’t beaten. I really can’t. He’s a tough, tough player for everyone. He is relentless.

“He [Rios] was competitive; comes to fight; he gave everything he had. He is very, very experienced, he used his experience and sometimes tried to “try” it. He took some solemn punishment and returned to the fight several times.

“Nick is still learning and it was a really, really good fight; he was a good opponent for him and got the best out of him. He dug deep and did what he had to do. He controlled most of the fights.”

The fact that Ball has fought twice in Saudi Arabia, as he did against Vargas and Ford, suggests that his next title defense could be made there, regardless of the temptation – as would previously have been more typical – to build his image as an attraction in his hometown and When asked about the likely target of his next fight, Warren replied: “I don’t know at this stage. If he has a break, he can enjoy Christmas and see what happens next year. We have a show in February in Arabia and then it’s Ramadan so we’ll have to see. Unify titles [is the plan]”

Warren was absent from Liverpool due to flu, which also postponed his arrival in Riyadh for Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol, but on the same day Jack Rafferty (29) was impressed by the retention of Henry Turner, and Warren plans to return to negotiate with him regarding a promotional contract.

“I would like to do something with him. Of course we will do something with them and he deserves it,” he said. “He deserves it. By the way, Henry, we’ll get him back – let’s rest him and we’ll get him back in the game too. It’s a good fight for him and he’s learning. Rafferty is a tough competitor, there’s no doubt about it. We will work with him on something, that’s for sure.

“I would like to see this fight [between Rafferty and Pierce O’Leary]. This would be a great fight between these two early next year.

“It was always a tough fight [against Turner]. It was very competitive; Henry boxed exceptionally well for the first half of the fight and Rafferty returned to the fight. I always felt that during the fight, his experience and these 10 more fights than Henry could assist him. But Henry showed that he was an excellent boxer.

“It was more than that [Turner] running out of gas. But I’m not going to take anything away from Rafferty – he could have won two rounds by then.

For the first time in the four-belt era, two lithe heavyweights will face each other to fight for the undisputed championship.

On Saturday, October 12 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET), the WBC, WBO and IBF champion will face WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET) to unify all the major 175-pound belts.

The fight was scheduled to take place on June 1 this year, but a month before the fight, Beterbiev suffered a torn meniscus and underwent knee surgery, which forced a postponement. Instead of waiting, Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) fought Malik Zinad that day and scored a sixth-round TKO victory, his only stoppage win in his last 10 fights.

Beterbiev (20-0, 20) is the only boxing champion with a 100% KO rate. As of November 2017, he holds at least one lithe heavyweight title. Beterbiev unified his three belts in a second-round TKO victory over Joe Smith Jr. in June 2022 and has since made two successful defenses.

There are two other title fights on the card. Jai Opetaia defends her IBF cruiserweight title against Jack Massey, and Skye Nicolson puts her WBC featherweight belt on the line against Raven Chapman.

Where can I watch the Beterbiev vs. fight? Bivol on Saturday, October 12?

Beterbiev vs. fight Bivol’s undisputed lithe heavyweight title bout will air on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.

Watch: Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV

Don’t have ESPN? Find out how to get instant access today: ESPNInstantAccess.com

How to broadcast fights?

The fights will be broadcast on mobile devices using the ESPN application.

The undercard starts at 12:00 ET on DAZN.

Beterbiev vs. Bivol full card:

On ESPN+

• Title fight: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, 12 rounds, for Beterbiev’s WBC, WBO and IBF lithe heavyweight titles and Bivol’s WBA lithe heavyweight title

He DAZN

• Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke, 12 rounds, for the British heavyweight title

• Title fight: Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey, 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title

• Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta, 12 rounds, middleweight

• Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron, 10 rounds, lithe heavyweight

• Title fight: Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman, 10 rounds, for Nicolson’s WBC featherweight title

• Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez, 4 rounds, lightweight

Top stories:

Alejandro Paulino wants to prove that he is a rising lightweight.

As manager Roland Estrada confirmed in an interview with The Ring, undefeated Paulino will face Toka Kahn Clary on November 2. The 10-round fight will take place at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Kahn Clary will be a step up in opposition, but Estrada is confident Paulino will rise to the occasion and make a statement to the rest of the 135-pounders.

“This will be the biggest fight of Alejandro’s compact but aggressive career,” Estrada told The Ring on Sunday evening. “Toka Kahn Clary is a great fighter who has fought and trained with many boxing legends. His reputation is highly regarded in our sport and especially in Modern England. We organized our camp as if Alejandro was fighting for the world title, so there will be no excuses.

“On Sunday morning (Nov. 3), we will find out if this kid (Paulino) is just another fighter or if he is one of the top lightweights in the lightweight division.”

Paulino (18-0, 14 knockouts), who lives in nearby Modern London, last fought on September 7, knocking out Luis Porozo in the first round. In his previous fight on March 23, Paulino overcame a lightning-quick first-round knockdown before knocking down Estivan Falcao in a round en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic has fought 15 times this year for the Boston Butchers of the Team Combat League, which ended at the end of July. Paulino lost only one fight.

Paulino started boxing at the age of 18 and is promoted by longtime Modern England promoter Jimmy Burchfield.

Kahn Clary (29-3, 19 KO) has not fought since November 2022, defeating former junior lightweight world title challenger Jonathan Oquendo by unanimous decision. In his previous fight in December 2020, Kahn Clary lost a decision of over 10 one-sided rounds to Shakur Stevenson.

The 32-year-old fought on numerous top-level cards before losing by knockout to Jhon Gemino in September 2016. Southpaw Kahn Clary won his next six fights before losing a decision to former world featherweight champion Kid Galahad.

Kahn Clary is originally from Monrovia, Liberia and currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island. He has three wins over three undefeated fighters: Jose Haro, David Berna and John Moralde.

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