Author: Sean Crose

WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball defended his title on Saturday night by repeatedly retiring and then interrupting a very good game to Ronny Rios. Although the 21-0-1 ball dominated the fight, his nose was badly busted throughout the fight. “My nose always hurts,” he said later. “It’s boxing, you’ll get a little nosebleed. That’s what makes champions.” This businesslike approach certainly served Ball well, as he impressed the hometown fans gathered at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Not that Ball had much bad to say about the defeated challenger after the fight ended in the tenth round.

“That’s what we train for,” Ball said. “Things like that, eliminate them. Hats off to him, he caught me with a few on my nose. Indeed, the 34-year-old Rios was nothing if not game. After a brutal opening part of the fight, the American fired back at Ball fiercely. But that wasn’t enough. With just 17 KOs in a 39-fight career, Rios simply didn’t have the firepower to stop the aggressive defending champion. With strength, power and an excellent game plan, Ball was simply one level better than Rios on Saturday.

While not known as a massive hitter himself, Ball was the epitome of piercing aggression on Saturday, starting from the opening bell. Firing an endless amount of powerful shots, it almost seemed like Ball was getting gassed. He didn’t do it. In fact, he was able to drop Rios in both the third and seventh rounds. Rios stood up on both occasions. Indeed, the man was even able to get back on his feet after Ball literally threw him through the ropes in the tenth set. But at this point, Team Rios had seen enough. They stopped the fight before their warrior suffered further damage.

After the match, Ball indicated that there was more work to be done at featherweight. “I have one of the four belts,” he said, “and it would be nice to get another one.”

Seven months after losing to Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu described the unified WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion as a man he can beat at 154.

Twenty-nine-year-old Tszyu from Australia lost a split decision to replacement Fundora at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, surrendering his WBO belt in the process. The 26-year-old Fundora took advantage of Tszyu’s devastating second-round injury to claim a 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112 split decision victory.

Talking about his wealth of talent at the age of 154, Tszyu refused to acknowledge Fundora as the best junior middleweight, but believes he currently holds the titles needed to be considered the best.

“Man, the 154-pound division is heated right now,” Tszyu said in an interview with BoxingScene. “Names are popping up everywhere. There are belts all over the place, so it’s good to be in this division now.”

In addition to Tszyu, the junior middleweight division is currently loaded with plenty of talent, including Terence Crawford, Fundora, Israil Madrimov, Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk, Brian Mendoza and Erickson Lubin, among others.

When asked who in the talent pool he wanted to face, Tszyu said he was open to fighting anyone at 154 pounds, but chose Fundora as the first option on his list. Tszyu also has plans to gain weight in the future.

“If everything presents itself and everything falls into place, then yes, of course. Why not? It all depends on the current situation. Changes in boxing. It’s like a fighter losing and then being next in line. That’s all. You can’t really predict the future much. It’s arduous.

“It’s very heated at 154 at the moment, so I’ll stay here. Fundora already has the belts at the moment, but no, I don’t think he’s the best.”