UK Boxing
Nick Ball vs. Brandon Figueroa – results and post-fight report
Brandon Figueroa surprisingly became the recent WBA featherweight champion when he defeated Nick Ball in the final round of their fight when he was out of cards.
Ball (23-1-1, KO13) defended his belt for the fourth time and it was his last points match against Sam Goodman last August in Riyad, while former world champion Figueroa (27-2-1, KO20) bounced back on points over Joet Gonzalez after losing his WBC crown to Stephen Fulton.
Ball hit a challenging uppercut in the first quarter and found the back of the net on the same shot early in the second. Figueroa responded, but the champion put a lot of pressure on him.
Figueroa boxed better but Ball’s shots carried much more weighthis left hand landed almost constantly, but the challenger had his best round in the fourth, working Ball’s body to good effect.
Ball’s nose was covered in blood in the fifth set, but he didn’t hesitate, instead continuing to land cleaner punches and his counters proved too arduous for Figueroa to overcome.
He fought bravely but his punches were inconsistent, although a triple jab landed in the eighth round and he backed it up with a solid ninth strike where he pushed Ball away and worked the host’s body.
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After serving and taking the tenth position, Ball regained control and the power punches returned to the fore, but just when it seemed that he could easily keep the title on the cards, Figueroa had a huge surprise in store: he dropped Ball with a left hand in the final frame.
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The ball survived the count but then fell through the ropes under weighty fire and the contents were sensationally discarded.
Andrew Cain vs. Alejandro Gonzalez
Andrew Cain (15-1, KO13) pulled victory from the jaws of defeat and stopped Alejandro Gonzalez (19-7-3, KO11) in the ninth round of a bantamweight fight that was a WBC title eliminator.
Cain looked down and down in the eighth after being dropped twice due to body shots, but bravely survived and rallied twice in the round to beat Gonzalez, with the guy opting not to continue with a severely damaged eye.
Undercard remaining
Super flyweight Jack Turner (14-0, KO13) remained undefeated, forcing Juan Carlos Martinez Urbina (10-4-1, KO4) to retire after three rounds.
Urbina was already losing in the first round, and in the third round it won a point for holding.
In an eight-round fight, Brad Strand (14-2, KO5) was too good for Ruben Lezama Gonzalez (12-7, KO11) as he forced the guy to throw in the towel in the third round of their super bantamweight fight.
Stephen Clarke (9-0, KO2) remained undefeated by defeating Lewis Howells (3-6, KO0) in the final middleweight bout.
With six rounds on the card, it was a disheartening defeat for the undefeated prospect.
Paddy Lacey (12-1, KO2) was defeated by one point in his middleweight fight against Jack Swallow (4-3-1, KO1), who won 58-57.
Lucas Szeto-Biswana (5-0, KO2) stopped Liam McMillan (2-5, KO0) three times en route to a last-round welterweight victory, and William Birchall (4-0, KO4) stopped Caine Singh (4-9-2, KO0) in the first match of their super featherweight bout.
Super bantamweight prospect Hassan Ishaq (3-0, KO3) defeated Leonardo Baez (5-17, KO0).
In a four-round fight, Luke Turner (2-0, KO1) scored a final-round victory over middleweight Jensen Irving (5-35-2, KO0), and super featherweight debutant Sam Norris (1-0, KO0) won all four rounds against Jack England (1-14-1, KO0).
The post Nick Ball vs. Brandon Figueroa – results and post-fight report appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
On Saturday in Sheffield, Josh Padley will defend his European super featherweight title against Aqib Fiaz for the first time.
Eddie HearnMatchroom is promoting the Padley vs Fiaz fight from Utilita Arena live on DAZN worldwide.
The pair were scheduled to fight on the undercard, but were later advanced to the main event Dalton Smith’s WBC super lightweight title defense against Albert Puello and then Galal Yafai’s clash with unified flyweight world champion Ricardo Sandoval was shelved due to injury.
Padley (18-1, 6 KO) won the vacant belt after a second-round stoppage of Jaouad Belmehdi in Newcastle in January.
The 30-year-old has won three times since a ninth-round defeat to Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title on four days’ notice.
Fiaz (14-1, 2 KO) is looking to break the script here and has won two in a row since an eight-round retirement loss to mutual opponent Reece Bellotti in 2023, whom Padley defeated by unanimous decision in October.
The 26-year-old last didn’t play 11 months ago, securing a unanimous decision victory over Alex Murphy.
Nadim-Sulaimaan will fight for the title of English champion
Ibrahim Nadim defends his English super featherweight crown for the first time against Ibraheem Sulaimaan.
Nadim (16-1, 2 KO) secured the vacant belt with a unanimous decision victory over Numan Hussain in November, and Sulaimaan (10-0, 5 KO) became the Midlands Area champion with a sixth-round victory over Nico Ogbeide also in November.
Undercard remaining
Middleweight Aaron Bowen (7-1, 5 KO) suffered his first professional loss to Tom Cowling in November, but can get back to winning ways with a stoppage victory over Troy Coleman (15-4-1, 7 KO).
Heavyweight prospect Leo Atang (6-0, 5 KO) can remain excellent by defeating Frenchman Fouad Shaili (5-4-2, 3 KO).
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Connor Mitchell (2-0, 1 KO) can improve his undefeated record by scoring points over Jesus Carrasco (2-4-2) at featherweight, while Chris Mulanda (2-0) can do the same against Connor Goulding (6-12) in their middleweight bout.
Adam Maca (5-0, 5 KO) and Edward Hardy (6-0, 2 KO) will return to the pitch against an as yet unspecified opponent.
The post Josh Padley vs Aqib Fiaz – Gigantic Fight Preview and Predictions appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
Anthony Joshua won’t be leaving boxing any time soon.
Joshua returns to the ring on July 25 in Saudi Arabia against Kristian Prengi, ahead of a thrilling clash with long-time rival Tyson Fury in November.
The two-time world heavyweight champion was expected to potentially end his career after his long-awaited clash with Fury, but the 36-year-old insists he can continue for another four years, even opening the door to a potential clash with the rising 21-year-old heavyweight champion, Moses This is going to hurt.
“For me, maybe until I’m 40,” Joshua told reporters.
“It’s only been about three or four years.
“I’ll be 37 in October, so it’s only three years, it’ll go by quickly.
“Of course it will be challenging, but I definitely think I’m tough enough to do it.
“Why not, why not? I’m definitely more mature.”
“AJ” will fight for the first time since the sixth-round knockout of Jake Paul in Miami in December.
The Watford player took a break from the sport after he was involved in a devastating road accident in Nigeria 10 days later that killed two of his close friends, Latif “Latz” Ayodele and Sina Ghami.
Joshua, who met Prenga face-to-face earlier this week, said he strongly supports parents Ayodele and Ghami.
“You’ll never get over it, but you’ll gain perspective in life,” he said BBC Sport.
“Life sometimes teaches you humility. You never know your fate.
“As a soldier, I stand powerful in defense of their parents.
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“First of all, it’s not about me.
“I think it’s crucial to put parents first at this time.
“I will have time to grieve, but I know that right now my heart and mind say that their parents are my main priority.”
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Joshua’s fight against Prenga will take place at the Jeddah Superdome.
Fury, who retired in April to defeat Arslanbek Makhmudov, is scheduled to have another warm-up fight on August 1.
The post Anthony Joshua REVEALS when he will retire from boxing appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
Chris Billam-Smith returns to his hometown of Bournemouth to headline the inaugural Zuffa Boxing UK event against Ryan Rozicki on Saturday.
Billam-Smith is taking on Rozicki at the Bournemouth International Center and the bill is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Paramount+ in the US.
“The Gentleman” is fighting in Bournemouth for the first time since he forced Mateusz Masternak to retire in the eighth round during the first defense of his WBO cruiserweight title.
After taking revenge on Richard Riakporhe in a rematch, the 35-year-old dropped the heavyweight belt lost by unanimous decision to Zurdo Ramirez in reunification in 2024
Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KO) returned to winning ways after a points victory over Brandon Glanton in his last appearance in April last year.
Rozicki (21-1-1, 20 KO) has lost only once in his 23 professional fights, overtaken by Oscar Rivas in the fight for the WBC bridgeweight crown in 2021.
“The Bruiser” previously fought for the WBC interim cruiserweight title and drew against Yamil Alberto Peralta.
The 31-year-old Canadian returned to winning ways after knocking out Gerardo Mellado in the second round in March and will enter Saturday’s fight as the number one contender in the WBC rankings.
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Massey meets Clarke
Jack Massey meets Cheavon Clarke at the cruiserweight crossroads.
Massey (23-3, 13 KO) was knocked out by Opetaia in his fight for the 2024 IBF cruiserweight crown, but got back into the win column in November with a fourth-round stoppage of Ivan Gabriel Garcia.
Clarke (11-2, 8 KO), a 2020 Olympian, saw his progress ponderous after consecutive losses to Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley.
After returning to play in December, the 35-year-old knocked out Anthony Holloway in the fourth round.
Undercard remaining
Lee Cutler (15-2, 7 KO) from Bournemouth moves to middleweight and can return to winning ways thanks to a points victory over Aaron Sutton (19-2, 3 KO).
Heavyweight Ivan Dychko (15-1, 14 KO) was defeated by Jermaine Franklin in September, but should bounce back by handing Harvey Dykes (7-0-1) his first loss after the break.
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Stephen McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) hasn’t fought since his loss to Cutler in 2024, but he should return after his victory over Casey James Streeter (15-3-2, 6 KO) in the middleweight division.
In the third middleweight fight, Sam Hickey (4-0, 1 KO) can break the undefeated record of Todd Tompkins (4-0) by scoring points.
Airy heavyweight Leon Hughes (4-0, 3 KO) and welterweight Alex Macmillan (3-0, 2 KO) should secure victories in their respective fights via stoppage.
The post Chris Billam-Smith vs. Ryan Rozicki – Gigantic Fight Preview and Predictions appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
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