Nick Ball’s goal is a rematch with Rey Vargas and a future fight with Naoya Inoue after successfully defending his WBA featherweight title against Ronny Rios.

Ball defended his title for the first time and made his first appearance in his hometown of Liverpool in over four years. His growing support must have been watched from afar with his last two fights in Saudi Arabia – a controversial draw with WBC champion Vargas, after which Ball won the belt by defeating Raymond Ford.

His devoted supporters turned out in their thousands at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool to support one of their own. The 27-year-old couldn’t believe the reception he received after his first fight in the city’s iconic place, and he had previously boxed in nightclubs and halls in other parts of the city.

“It didn’t even register with me,” Ball told BoxingScene. “It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come. I always dreamed about it, knowing it would happen. With the right support, the right team around me and the right promoter – Team Queensberry. They managed to achieve this and bring boxing back to Liverpool. Huge night and I can’t thank them enough.

“This is the beginning of something novel. I’m world champion, but I’m going back to boxing in Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena – that’s where everyone wants to come. I feel this is just the beginning; there are still many nights ahead of us.”

Ball’s homecoming was a huge success as he put in an action-packed performance against the 34-year-old Rios and battled through a broken nose, dropping him twice before finally stopping him in the 10th round.

“I always knew I hurt him,” Ball continued. “I saw in his eyes that he was devastated, he was getting up from the stool, exhausted. So I knew I just had to keep it, but at the same time take my time; stay on. He was threatening there sometimes. I knew I would get there, but it was only a matter of time and it finally came.

“I was getting hit harder, but he landed pristine right hands and jabbed me with something I shouldn’t have been hit with – as you can see by my nose. This is boxing, right? You learn from every fight, and I definitely learned something from it. So I’ll take that into consideration for the next fight.”

Ball had his sights set firmly on Rios, but that changed after the fight when he mentioned a rematch with Vargas and a fight with undisputed super bantamweight champion Inoue as potential options.

“I need a chance at Vargas because that’s my belt,” he said. “I should have it on the other shoulder, but it’s coming. Everything happens for a reason, so time will tell.

“[And] everyone talks about the name Inoue, right? He is a super bantamweight – there is no super bantamweight challenging him. But of course, if he comes to my weight, I will show him who this man is at this weight. Of course I will fight him 100 percent. He’s a top-class fighter and everyone says we’re fighting, so of course I’ll do it.”

Earlier this week, Ball visited Liverpool Football Club’s iconic Anfield to promote his date with Rios.

“[Fighting there] it would be a higher level,” Ball said. “I was there this week for a Champions League match [against Bologna] with dad and it was a special evening. I told him, “Imagine me fighting here, I will make it happen,” and I hope one day it will happen.

Tyson Fury has said he will throw caution to the wind when he faces heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and will aim for a knockout victory in the rematch.

In their first fight in May, Fury gained momentum in the fourth round and showed off a display, catching Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian responded and turned the fight around in the eighth round.

Usyk’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling, and the previously undefeated boxer fought through the final rounds of the fight before losing a split decision and relinquishing his WBC heavyweight title.

The rematch will take place on December 21 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, and the WBC, WBO and WBA titles will be at stake.

“I’m going to go in there in destruction mode. The last time I fought him in boxing, I was cautious. I shot him right in the head,” Fury told TNT Sports on Saturday.

“Let’s talk about the facts. Anyone can get caught, as we have seen in many heavyweight fights, but this time I will not go for a points decision.”

Fury added that he is still interested in fighting fellow Briton Anthony Joshua, despite the former champion’s knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in his IBF title fight last month.

Joshua and Fury were scheduled to face each other in the proposed Fight for Britain in 2022, but the fight ended in failure.

“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury said.

“No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win the next fight and has 10 years left to fight, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.”