Both Nick Ball and Ronny Rios weighed under 126 pounds as featherweights ahead of Saturday’s WBA title fight at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.

Ball (20-0, 11 KO), 27, is defending the title in his hometown for the first time.

Rios (34-4, 17 KO), 34, is making his third attempt at winning the world title and first at featherweight. The ball hit the scales at 125.1 pounds; his challenger weighed slightly more at 125.6 pounds.

WBA Featherweight Championship – 12 rounds

Nick Ball – 125.1 pounds

Ronny Rios – 125.6 pounds

British and Commonwealth Junior Welterweight Title – 12 rounds

Henry Turner – 139.7 lbs

Jack Rafferty – 139.7 pounds

Bantamweight – 10 rounds

Andrew Cain – 117.1 pounds

Lazaro Casseres – 116.1 pounds

Lithe – 10 rounds

Jader Herrera – 134 pounds

Oliver Flores – 134.6 pounds

Bantamweight – six rounds

Jack Turner – 120.1 lbs

Gonzalo Corinaldesi – 118.1 pounds

Junior welterweight – six rounds

Nelson Birchall – 130.5 pounds

Mark Butler – 129.9 pounds

Welterweight – four rounds

Lucas Biswana – 145.1 pounds

Jakub Laskowski – 144.1lbs

Lightweight – eight rounds

James McGivern – 135.1 pounds

Requ Facundo Arce – 135.4 lbs

Middleweight – four rounds

Joe Cooper – 159.1 pounds

Lukasz Barabasz – 159.1lbs

Junior featherweight category – four rounds

Brad Strand 122.5 pounds

Marvin Solano – 125.7 pounds

Junior middle category – four rounds

Walter Fury – 156.1 pounds

Dale Arrowsmith – 155.1 pounds

IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly stopped IBF Pan Pacific title and WBO world champion “King” Andrei Mikhailovich in a ninth-round war on Friday night at The Star in Sydney, Novel South Wales, Australia.

The fight had to take place in July in Las Vegas when Alimkhanuly passed out on fight day due to weight gain.

IBF middleweight champion Aimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KO) knocked out Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO) at 2:45 of the ninth round in a fight scheduled for 12 rounds.

Aimkhanuly used his jab effectively in the first round, rocking Mikhailovich mid-round with a left hand to the chin. Mikhailovich landed a solid shot right to Aimkhanuly’s chin after the bell.

In the second round, after a minute of Mikahilovich holding firm against punches, Aimkhanuly was landed behind the head and warned by referee Katsuhiko Nakamura.

Aimkhanuly rocked Mikhailovich, knocking him to his feet. In the last seconds, Aimkhanuly’s left to the chin knocked down Mikahilovich for 8 from referee Nakamura.

In the third round, Aimkhanuly was dominated by Mikhailovich, who fought well but was lost until the bell. In the fourth round, Aimkhanuly outperformed the tough Mikhailovich throughout, keeping the fight single.

In the fifth round, Mikahilovich kept him inside, not allowing Aimkhanuly to break free with his knockout power for half the round. In the last round, Aimkhanuly had Mikhailovich on defense.

Aimkhanuly drew blood from Mikahilovich’s nose in the first minute of the sixth. It was Aimkhanuly who stood his ground, and Mikahilovich came back and fought well.

Aimkhanuly landed three or four punches at once in the seventh set. Arriving two days before the fight may have had an impact on Aimkhanuly as Mikahliovich fought well.

In the eighth round, Aimkhanuly sucked blood from Mikhailovich’s mouth in the first minute. Mikhailovich was punished several times by referee Nakamura for using his head. In the final seconds, Aimkhanuly’s left uppercut injured Mikahliovich.

In the ninth round, Aimkhanuly left Mikhailovich almost defenseless, bleeding from his nose and mouth. Aimkhanuly took Mikhailovich to the ropes and almost knocked him to the ground when referee Nakamura wisely called a timeout.

IBO featherweight champion Mea Motu (20-0, 8 KO) defeated Shannon O’Connell (24-8-1, 12 KO) at 1:06 of the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round fight.

In the first round, 41-year-old former Commonwealth champion O’Connell, who was playing as a substitute, endured a solid round by both her and Motu until heads clashed midway through the round, which resulted in O’Connell suffering a massive gash after right side of the head, which caused the doctor on duty to come and check it out.

In the second round, O’Connell, with blood streaming down her face, fought bravely until the final seconds when she was crushed by a Motu combination.

There was no blood flowing in the third round of action, but by the end an egg-sized lump appeared on O’Connell’s forehead.

In the fourth round, both were landing punches mid-round when the towel was thrown in and O’Connell was concussed by a Motu punch, causing referee Andrew Lazich to order a stoppage.

O’Connell was a true fighter in defeat and was expected to fight for the WIBF World Super Bantam title in Germany, taking the fight on tiny notice. Motu showed her respect by hugging O’Connell after the break.

Lightweight Charlie Kazzi (7-0, 3 KO) knocked out Lui Magavia (4-7 (1 KO) featherweight) at 1:18 of the seventh round of a scheduled eight-round fight in an action-packed fight for the vacant WBC Australasia silver title.

It was a fast-paced action with the taller Kazzi going to the body, ending the round with a strenuous punch right to Magavia’s chin. In the final seconds, Kazzi rocked Magavia with a left hook to the chin.

In the third round, referee Will Soulis warned Kazzi not to stop punching. In the final thirty seconds, Kazzi rocked Magavia with a solid punch to the chin.

In the last twenty seconds of the fifth round, Kazzi rocked Magavia, who took a lot of blows to the head. In the seventh round, Kazzi landed a series of punches that caused referee Soulis to stop play, possibly prematurely, much to Magavia’s displeasure.

Lightweight Amed Reda (3-0, 3 KO) defeated super featherweight Joe Kara (5-7-1, 5 KO) by knockout in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight.

Nick Ball will defend his WBA featherweight title against Ronny Rios for the first time at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday evening. The player is used to competing at world level, but he does not have the pedigree to beat the best.

While the little guys deal with it in the main event, let’s see what else is worth watching on the TNT card, brought together by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.

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Henry Turner vs. Jack Rafferty

A high-quality battle of the undefeated as London’s Henry Turner takes on Jack Rafferty. Turner brings his WBC silver title to the table and Rafferty is the Commonwealth super-lightweight king. Add in the vacant British title and it should be a solid battle.

Rafferty fought 10 more fights and impressively knocked out Lee Appleyard in a round. Turner wins over the undoubtedly fading Tom Farrell and Billy Allington.

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Andrew Cain vs. Lazaro Casseres

The once beaten Cain can punch challenging and performed well in his last fight, beating British and Commonwealth champion Ashley Lane in five rounds. Casseres has only lost once, and that was on the only occasion he dared to leave Colombia, which probably tells you all you need to know about his chances here.

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Jader Herrera vs. Oliver Flores fight

Cuban Herrera rates the situation at 15-0 with 13 KOs. The 22-year-old smoked Andres Navarrete in one round in Belfast to boost his qualifications. Experienced Nicaraguan Flores has been in the ring with Miguel Berchelt and Felix Verdejo, but he is approaching the limit.

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James McGivern Reuquen Cona Facundo Arce Fight

In June at the SSE Arena in Belfast, James McGivern defeated Rashid Omar in the second round with a powerful finishing shot. The comfortable boxer sometimes resembles Jack Catterall in that he plays it safe and sound and southpaw. Dangerman Arce is an underrated puncher who has already given Archie Pointed and Ray Moylette numbers this year. McGivern should keep him long enough to avoid such concerns.

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Brad Strand vs. Marvin Solano

The Strand local lost his undefeated record to Dennis McCann in his last appearance. The experience he gained that night should stand him in good stead for a comeback. Journeyman Solano shouldn’t cause much trouble, although he has been unstoppable in eight fights.

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Ball vs. card Rios – the best of the rest

Morecambe’s Nelson Birchall is losing strength, as is Birmingham heavyweight Boma Brown. Lucas Biswana makes his debut from Liverpool and Walter Fury maintains that family name is significant in super locks. Well-supported Joe Cooper is fighting for the second time since his summer debut in Belfast.