WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford could be in for a tough time tonight when he faces pressure fighter Nick Ball in their 12-round '5 vs. 5' in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) looked good The Skeletor Last Friday on the scale, looking fit and boned. He made the 130-lb weight in his fight tonight against Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs).
The Camden, New Jersey native Ford looked like death was warming up on the scale, and you could tell he was holding himself back to drop down to featherweight.
Ford didn't look like himself on the scale, you could tell he wasn't going to be 100% in this fight given the way he looked. It wouldn't be a big deal if Ford wasn't fighting a presser fighter, but to face a fighter like Ball, he'll be there tonight.
The 25-year-old Ford wanted to vacate his WBA 126-lb title and move up to super featherweight, but he was convinced to stay in the division when the opportunity for a lucrative payday came up for him to make his first and possibly his only. the belt's only defense against the Ball.
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“If you get to the sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds and Nick Ball is still in your face, I can see a fight like this happening between Ball and. [Rey] Vargas, where Vargas got off to a good start. I can see Ford getting off to a good start. Then I see Nick Ball is confused and I can stop him in this fight,” said analyst Chris Mannix speaking to DAZN Boxing about tonight's fight between Raymond Ford who is the WBA featherweight champion and Nick Ball.
With the weight struggle that Ford had this week, he will be at his best in the early rounds, but as Mannix said, he will have big problems with Ball in the second half due to the pressure. placed over him. The ball is a handful, and he will rob Ford in every competition.
“I have some questions for him [Ford] he's still the best at this weight class,” Mannix said. “What worries me about this Raymond Ford fight. Nick Ball is always under pressure. You have to be in it to stop Nick Ball from offending you.”
Ford said this week that he wanted to move up to 130 after his fight last March, but was offered a fight on the '5 vs. 5', so he chose to stay at 126 for the final time. He had a lot of problems against Otabek Kholmatov and would have lost that fight if it wasn't for the Uzbek fighter with a knee injury.
Even then, the Fords needed a highly questionable twelfth lap to win their East Coast matchup in Verona, New York.
“I think Raymond Ford has the ability to do that, but I'm worried about his ability to do that at this weight,” said Mannix. “We both know that Ray Ford is not long at featherweight. In fact, if this opportunity didn't come up in Saudi Arabia, I think Ray Ford's next fight will be at 130 lbs. He has to kill himself to get down to 126.
“In the last few weeks, we've seen the dangers of a fighter staying at the weight for too long,” said Mannix.
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