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.”

Jake Paul and Tommy Fury are two of the “YouTubers” targeted by the cruiserweight fighter, who returns to action on October 12.

Paul Bamba will face former world title challenger Francisco Cordero next week at the Prudential Center in Newark. After the victory, Bamba wants to face the most critical names on the YouTuber’s boxing circuit.

Boasting a 16-3 record and 15 major knockouts, Bamba wants to give rivals Paul and Fury all the trouble they need.

“Here’s the idea, beat up some YouTubers and then go straight back to boxing,” Bamba said. “I want to be the best in the cruiserweight division.

“I know it will take a lot more time and practice, but that’s all I do all day long.”

Modern York native Bamba is ranked twelfth in the World Boxing Association rankings and hopes to work his way into a potential title shot. However, he would be more than ready to work with the influencer if the calls came.

“As each fight gets harder and harder, the goal is not just to win, but to win well and look good,” Bamba said. I want to be able to showcase my boxing skills instead of just getting in the ring and knocking someone out.

“It’s about me winning and making sure I can run all 12 rounds as I fight for the world title to show that I’m destined to be up there with the greats,” Bamba said.

“There is potential to utilize this title as leverage to make the fight with Tommy Fury actually take place as it was supposed to happen a few years ago at Floyd Mayweather vs. Deji in Dubai two years ago, and maybe even Jake Paul will want to try it, he added.

The Bamba vs. Cordero fight is part of the “Brick City Fight Night Series” presented by Rising Star Promotions and Prudential Center in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

Next week’s event is the USBA welterweight title fight between Michael “Slick” Anderson and Daniel “El Gallo” Gonzalez.

Bamba, whose manager is R&B star Ne-Yo, hatched a bold plan to fight 15 times in one year, mirroring the tight schedule established by Mike Tyson in 1986 en route to the heavyweight title.

“He helped me develop a lot. I’m much more skilled defensively than I used to be. My boxing IQ is the same as night and day. I don’t sit there and try to fight myself. He has plans for every fight. Thanks to him, I also gained more self-confidence,” concluded the Puerto Rican.

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.”