Nick Ball, for some of us, the most consistently exciting fighter around today, although to be fair, Ball has not been on the world scene for too long, has his ‘Homecoming’ fight tonight in Liverpool against the seasoned Ronny Rios. Ball says he wants to put on a show tonight and that his aim is to keep on proving he is the best featherweight in the world. To do this, Ball wants to unify the belts at 126 pounds, and this is the plan for next year.
Another fight that keeps on getting mentioned for Ball, though, is one with pound-for-pound star the mighty Naoya Inoue, AKA “The Monster.” And what a monster fight Inoue Vs. Ball would be, especially for the UK and for British fight fans. Ball, who spoke with The Echo in his native Liverpool, said he keeps hearing Inoue’s name. Inoue has yet to confirm if he will even make the move up to the featherweight division (although most people do expect him to do so, maybe as soon as next year) – but Ball says he will be waiting for the Japanese superstar if he does invade his weight division.
“He is the name I am getting mentioned with, and he is the fighter that everyone is speaking about, and they are the fighters that I want to fight,” Ball said, referring to Inoue. “I want to prove that I am better than them. I want to show that I am the best. So, yeah, he is definitely someone I would fight. If he is coming up to my weight, I want to show I am the man at my weight.”
27-year-old Ball, 20-0-1(11), and a real warrior who thrills fans with his non-stop punch output and his sheer aggression against Inoue, a superb fighter who can seemingly do it all, is a genuinely mouthwatering proposition. But again, 34-year-old Californian Rios must be dealt with first, in just a few hours from now, and we’ve seen over the years numerous ‘Homecoming’ affairs turn into a disaster, with the local hero trying too hard to please his hometown fans and being the victim of an upset as a result.
But assuming Ball does get past Rios, and he is a pretty hefty favorite to do so, those aforementioned unification fights will come. Who knows, Ball, as good as he is, might have won two, even three of the featherweight titles by the time Inoue moves up to 126. And what a massive fight, Ball Vs. Inoue would be if it contested two or three world titles. Would Ball go to Japan for the fight, or would Inoue come to the UK?
For now, Inoue has unfinished business at 122 pounds, and Ball has work to do at 126. Rios, 34-4(17), a former two-time world title challenger at super-bantam, will be no pushover.
Pick: Ball survives a scare or two before he comes on to stop Rios late.
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