‘Fighting machine’ Nick Ball told to rest before resuming career

Nick Ball has been instructed by his promoter Frank Warren to recover from the most demanding year of his career before considering their next move.

On Saturday at Liverpool’s M&S Arena the 27 year old stopped Ronny Rios in 10 rounds to make the first defense of his WBA featherweight title.

The bruising fight was his third in the space of seven months, following, in March, him moving up to world level for the first time when he drew with Rey Vargas. It was in June when he then won his title against Raymond Ford, and Saturday when he defended it in his home city.

Warren, who also promotes Daniel Dubois, compared Ball’s run with that of the heavyweight who has transformed his career with victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, but while there already exists speculation regarding a rematch between Dubois and Joshua, he will refuse to consider Ball’s career until 2025.

“He needs a rest,” Warren told BoxingScene. “I’m not even thinking about it at the moment. He needs a good rest. He’s had three absolutely tough, tough fights. I can’t think, other than Daniel Dubois, of anyone who’s fought at such a high level. He’s faced three world-class fighters in the space of seven months. How many people do that? 

“He needs a break, and I want him to have a break and then come back, with recharged batteries, and see how the land lies. He’s an exciting little sod – probably one of the most exciting fighters out there.

“I don’t think he’ll be too happy [to rest] ‘cause he’s a fighting machine, but Paul [Stevenson], his trainer, is a real sensible guy. We’ll have a conversation, and go from there. But Paul knows what needs to be done.

“[Rios] impressed me. I knew he was a tough guy. I knew he’d come to fight. Nick was sometimes trying a little bit too hard; I’d like to have seen him using his jab more; he’s got a great jab; when he uses it he’s different class. He’s a handful, and I can’t think of any guys out there he won’t beat. I really can’t. He’s a tough, tough handful for anybody. He’s relentless. 

“He [Rios] was competitive; he come to fight; he gave everything he had. He’s very, very experienced, and he was using his experience and trying to ‘old man’ him at times. He absorbed some serious punishment, and a couple of times got back into the fight. 

“Nick’s still on a learning curve, and it was a really, really good fight; it was a good opponent for him and brought the best out of him. He dug deep and done what he had to do. He was in control most of the fights.”

That Ball has twice fought in Saudi Arabia, as he did against Vargas and Ford, suggests that his next title defence could be staged there, regardless of the temptation – as would previously have been more typical – to build his profile as an attraction in his home city, and asked about the likely destination of his next fight, Warren responded: “At this stage I don’t know. If he has a break he’ll enjoy his Christmas, and see what’s happening next year. We’ve got a show in February in Saudi, and it’s Ramadan after that, so we’ll have to see. Unify the titles [is the plan].”

Warren was absent from Liverpool because he is suffering with flu, which also postponed his arrival in Riyadh for Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol, but on the same Queensberry Promotions date Jack Rafferty, 29, impressed in stopping Henry Turner, and Warren plans to revisit negotiations with him regarding a promotional agreement.

“I’d like to something with him – of course we’d do something with them, and he deserves it,” he said. “He deserves that. Henry, by the way, we’ll bring him back – let him rest up and we’ll get him back in action as well. That’s a good learning fight for him. Rafferty’s a tough competitor, no doubt about that. We’ll work with him on something, that’s for sure.

“I’d love to see that fight [between Rafferty and Pierce O’Leary]. That’d be a great fight between the two of them early next year.

“That was always going to be a tough fight [against Turner]. It was very competitive; Henry boxed extremely well for the first half of the fight, and Rafferty got himself back into the fight. I always felt as the fight went on, his experience and those 10 more fights than Henry might stand him in good stead. But Henry showed that he’s an excellent boxer. 

“It was more [Turner] running out of gas. But I’m not going to take anything away from Rafferty – he might have won two rounds up until then.”