Nick Ball shares his wish list for 2021: “I want a British title fight”
Undefeated prospect Nick Ball (13-0, 6KOs) is looking ahead to title fights in 2021, stating he would like to fight for the vacant English featherweight belt, but has even bigger aspirations to challenge for the coveted British title.
The 23-year-old Liverpudlian told Danny Flexen from SecondsOut, “I want a British title fight, I know the English title is vacant at my weight, although I’m not too sure but I think Reece Mould has currently got it, so I’d fight for that if I got offered it, but I feel like I’m past that already.”
Undefeated English champion Reece Mould (13-0, 6KOs) won the English featherweight title by knocking down Sean Davis (14-2) four times in four rounds in June 2019, and is now mandatory for the vacant British title, recently vacated by long-reigning holder Ryan Walsh (26-392, 12KOs), who held the title for over five years.
Former Commonwealth featherweight champ Jordan Gill (25-1, 7KOs) chose not to challenge Reece Mould for the vacant British belt when offered the opportunity, with his manager Dave Coldwell looking for European and fringe world level fights instead, so the BBBofC ordered Reece Mould vs Leigh Wood for the vacant title in their latest December circular instead.
“I don’t see why I couldn’t step in and fight Reece for it, we’ve got the same record, he’s 13-0 with six KOs and so am I, so it’d be wrong not to,” Ball asserted.
“He’s good, he’s strong, he comes forward, so it’d be a good fight, it’d be a war. He’s with Frank Warren and I’m with Frank Warren, so I don’t see why not, but I just let Paul deal with it to be honest, he’s my manager and I just fight whoever he puts in front of me.”
Ball is trained by Paul Stevenson at the century-old, talent-laden Everton Red Triangle gym, which also houses six other professional prospects, including Olympian Peter McGrail – one of very few Brits to quality for the next Olympics.
He has a great setup, surrounding by talented teammates, with a very knowledgeable trainer and, despite the universally bad year, 2020 was actually a breakout year for the youngster, firstly signing contracts with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, then winning both fights with dominant, exciting performances, whilst making his TV debut in the process.
He reflected with pride, “Yeah, it was good year, I had a good 2020. I know with everything else going on this year, it’s been bad for everyone, but you can’t start feeling sorry for yourself, there’s some boxers out there that haven’t even fought, so I’m lucky enough to get out twice, so yeah, I had a good 2020.
The ‘Wrecking Ball’ stopped Ivan Godor (20-72-4, 6KOs) in one round in February on a Black Flash Promotions show in Liverpool, then made his first TV appearance on July 31, competing on the undercard of Lyndon Arthur’s surprise victory over world title contender Anthony Yarde at the BT Sport Studios in London.
Ball went up against 6-0 unbeaten Londoner Jerome Campbell in a risky 50-50 fight, which he dominated 79-72 on points and even gave his opponent a standing eight-count in the penultimate seventh round.
He reflected on the experience, “It was a bit different with no fans, but it’s just a fight at the end of the day, so as soon as the bell goes, you’re just in fight mode, but it was good to get my first fight on TV, so massive thanks to Frank [Warren] for that.”
Up to that point, all of the fledgling pro’s fights had been fought on small hall shows in his home city.
“The fight week and build up was different to what I’ve experienced before,” he continued. “But I’ve prepared for myself for this in the past so when I’m doing it, I should be doing it, if that makes sense. After the fight, I got lots of messages from people saying to me ‘You’ve gained a fan’.”
Ball was explosive and dangerous, backing Campbell up on the ropes consistently, landing big left and right hands with venom.
“I fight like that all the time, that’s just my style – come forward and put the pressure on. I learnt loads in that last fight, I probably could have got him out of there if I took my time a bit, but when I had him, I got too close to him and rushed on too much, but what you learn in that fight you take into the next one.”
On the subject of his next fight, Ball went on to reveal, “We got told to be ready for February. I’ve been in the gym all over Christmas, but I train all year round, I’m training every single day, because you could get a call up in two weeks, saying ‘Do you want to fight on this show?’, and if you’re not ready then you can’t take it, so it’s not just an eight week camp thing, it’s an all year round thing, you’ve got to be ready.”
Despite working hard and training over the Christmas period, fortunately for Ball he still found time to enjoy the festivities with his family.
“I love my food! Over Christmas, I had a lot of nice food, but when I get a call for a fight that’s when I lock in on my dieting and get disciplined, but for now, if I want to go for a coffee and cake, then I’ll go and do it.”
Watch the full interview here:
About Nick Ball
Nick Ball is a former Junior ABA champion, who won 23 from 25 amateur fights.
Ranked #10 on BoxRec, Ball trains alongside fellow Queensbury Promotions teammates Andrew Cain (6-0, 6KOs) and Brad Strand (4-0, 1KO) at the century-old Everton Red Triangle Gym in Liverpool with head coach, Paul Stevenson.
All three signed contracts with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren in February and debuted together on the undercard of Lyndon Arthur’s Commonwealth light-heavyweight title defence to Dec Spelman on July 31 at the BT Sport Studios in London.
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