WBA featherweight champion, Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) says he will be ready to face Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) this Saturday, June 1st at the 5V5 event, live on DAZN PPV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ford, who hails from Camden, New Jersey, is predicting a landslide victory in undefeated football, and wants to put on a show for the fans.
Ford Is Undaunted By Football's Reputation
Raymond Ford says he won't let the 5'2″ Ball hurt him like he did his last opponent, WBC featherweight champion, Rey Vargas, who fought him to a draw for 12 questionable rounds last March in Riyadh.
The umpire called and gave Ball credit for going down in the eighth when he shoved Vargas and hit him while he was standing.
The ball kept shuffling and harassing Vargas throughout the fight, but the referee was only physically there, doing little to police the roughhouse tactics. Vargas should have won the fight, but screaming and the referee's failure to punish resulted in the contest being awarded a draw.
I hope this Saturday's fight will have a quality referee to control foul play so that the fans can see a boxing match.
Ford was also involved in a controversial fight in his last fight against Otabek Kholmatov last March in Verona, New York. The referee suddenly stopped the fight in the final seconds after Kholmatov lost his balance while moving and fell into the ropes, crediting Ford with the knockout. It was strange.
The referee should have stopped the action to allow Khomatov to turn around after tripping, but he didn't. It wasn't an ideal way for Ford to take the WBA 126-lb title, but he wasn't going to turn it down.
“It wasn't the best game, but it happened. I can't change it. Next time,” said Nick Ball on TNT Sports Boxing, referring to his last fight against WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas on March 8, a 12-round draw.
“I am a better boxer than him [Rey] Vargas. I'm a sharp puncher, and I think I hit hard. I'm in a hurry. I think I got better footwork,” said Raymond Ford.
“What I can do differently is to torture him there a little bit. Vargas didn't want his parts,” said Ford about what he would do to Nick Ball. “He ran away from him. I would try to bully the bully.
“I'm the type of fighter who doesn't mind going to fight,” said Ford.
“I'm a completely different animal and I'm a completely different fighter,” Ball said when asked how Ford will be different than his last opponent, Otabek Kholmatov, who fought with a knee injury and still won the fight.
Knockout Victory Predictions
“Kholmatov is tall, easy to target, great goal to hit,” Ford said. “Nick Ball is a bit of a force. It will be hard to beat him. He will be on top of me, trying to crush me. Otabek, I had to chase him, so two different fighters. I think so,” said Ford when asked if the Ball fight ends with a knockdown.
“Everybody knows how I fight, and the last one adds fuel to the fire,” said Ball.
“I think people expect me to move in this fight. There is more to come,” said Ford. “I don't see any weakness in him. I think he is a tough fighter. He's going to bring the heat, he's going to bring the pressure, he's going to be physical, and I'm not a guy who backs down from a challenge.
“Just being me. “Going in there and dominating from the first round until the end,” Ford said when asked how he wins. “If he wants to go toe-to-toe, I can punch him in the pocket. If you want to box, you know I'm a good boxer. So whatever he's going to get out of me, that's what I'm going to show you,” said Ford.
“However, I want to. We will have to wait and see,” said Ball about how he won from Ford.
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