The finish was clinical and unexpected for Nick Ball in front of his home crowd, late on Saturday night in Liverpool.
At the start of the final round of his fourth WBA featherweight title defence, against Brandon Figueroa, Ball was hit by a perfectly-timed short left and crashed face first to the canvas. He beat the count, staggered, was punched through the ropes, and was rescued after just 32 seconds of the 12th frame.
At the time of the stoppage, Figueroa was up on two of the scorecards and Ball in front on the third; the reality is that they both knew they needed a big last round to make sure of victory. Figueroa just needed to stay on his feet.
The scorecards are interesting because the three judges could only unanimously agree on the winner in three of the completed 11 rounds. It was a tight fight, a fight that no doubt would have created a problem if it had gone the distance, and a split decision had been announced.
It had been a typical Ball fight up until the punch that sent him to the canvas; he was shorter by about six inches, but kept the pressure on, kept looking to break Figueroa with fast and short combinations. After six rounds it was poised, but Figueroa never looked flustered, never looked in danger of falling apart under pressure.
Similarly, there was no panic in Ball’s corner or in his work; he had stopped two of his three world-title challengers in the 10th round, a round where the relentless pressure starts to take a heavy toll.
At the end of the fight, as Figueroa and his team celebrated, there were a few ugly exchanges in the ring between the rival teams; the American later apologised for the wild celebrations. “We were just excited,” he said.
His words should be the end of the matter. He was the underdog, had lost twice, and was fighting in front of Ball’s devoted flock. It was a fully understandable and excusable celebration, and the reaction was also understandable.
Figueroa is just a year older than Ball at 29, won and lost his first world title in 2021, regained a version in 2023, and lost that featherweight title last year. Both of Figueroa’s defeats were on points to Stephen Fulton; Saturday’s main event was always a hard fight for Ball, and it was also his sixth consecutive world-title fight in less than two years. “He will be back,” said Frank Warren, his promoter.
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Immediately after the fight, Figueroa received an invite to be part of a planned show in Saudi Arabia later this year called Mexico vs The World. Ball will have to look at his preparation, look at his tactics on the night, and consider if he did anything wrong – and if a rematch is what he wants or needs.
It looked like he just got caught with a perfect punch at an awful time in the fight. The simple but harsh truth is that there are not always excuses for defeats. It was Ball’s first loss in 25 fights and hard to accept on such a dramatic night, but defeats happen to the very best – the questions now are simple: how will he return, and how will he deal with the setback?
