Raymond Ford will be keeping a close eye on Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball
WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8KO) will be more invested than most when he watches Nick Ball challenge Rey Vargas for the WBC World Featherweight title tonight, live worldwide on DAZN PPV – and told Matchroom’s ‘Flash Knockdown’ Podcast that he’ll be rooting for a Ball win to set up a unification battle.
Raymond Ford became WBA champion in stunning fashion last weekend, stopping Otabek Kholmatov with just seven seconds left in the fight to claim the title and become Matchroom’s first World champion from their debut in the States.
‘Savage’ had stated before the fight that a tough weight-cut for the bout would see him move up for his next outing, but the 24 year old has adjusted his thoughts and believes he can still make 126lbs – for the right fight and money.
Enter Nick Ball (19-0, 11KO). The Briton takes on the rangy Vargas in Riyadh tonight, part of the stacked bill for ‘Knockout Chaos’, headlined by former two-time Heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua taking on UFC legend Joshua Ngannou, with the Liverpudlian in his first World title tilt against the Mexican two-weight king.
Boxing is abuzz with talk of the ‘5 v 5’ tournament between the stables of Hearn and Warren on June 1 in Saudi Arabia, and Ford told Matchroom’s ‘Flash Knockdown’ Podcast that a unification clash with Ball is exactly the type of occasion that could see him make the Featherweight limit one more time.
“The stage I am at right now is just thinking ‘what’s next?’ said Ford. “I’m not one of these guys that wins a World title and that’s it, I’m not satisfied with that. I want more belts, more big fights, more money – I’m not content, I’m destined for greatness and I’m chasing greatness. Saturday night was just the beginning, the start of it, I’m chasing legacy, big fights, entertaining fights, and I’ll be back real soon.
“I know Eddie was thinking about me fighting Nick Ball if he wins, that can be a big money unification. I read that there hasn’t been a unification bout at Featherweight between two champions since 2003 or something like that, so that could be another historic night to go and unify.
“So I don’t know, it’s not going to be a long lay off where I have to get down to the weight, I’m still in shape, I’ll get right back into the gym, so it might be a little easier making the weigh one more time to unify with Nick, so hopefully he gets the job done and I can get down to the weight to make that happen.
“I know that a lot of guys are going to Saudi because there’s a lot of money over there and I want big money. It would make sense for me to unify in the division and make the most money at this time in my career and moving up in weight then making less money if i just move up right away, I out a little more respect on my name and be able to call more of the shots.
“I haven’t really watched either guy but I’ll be tuned in and I’m pulling for Nick so we can make that big fight and unify.”
After a keenly fought first World title battle for both young men at Turning Stone in Verona, New York, Ford went into the final round with a nasty cut under his left eye, but the Camden talent came on strong in the 12th and with 30 seconds left in the fight, a huge uppercut had Kholmatov in all sorts of trouble. The Uzbek’s fall to the canvas was ruled accidental, but Ford smelt blood and went in for the kill, rocking Kholmatov, pursuing him around the ring and landing blows that the 25 year old couldn’t handle, with the referee stepping in to crown Ford as the new champion of the world.
In the middle rounds, Ford was heard on TV saying he felt he would stop Kholmatov, and while his backers in the arena were urging him to step on the gas, he told Matchroom’s ‘Flash Knockdown’ Podcast that he always felt in control of the fight and his emotions, right until the moment he realised he had achieved his dream.
“I’ve watched it back twice,” said Ford. “I got emotional again the first time. I’ve been getting a lot of messages from people that got emotional watching it, shedding tears when I won the title because it was such a crazy moment. And when I watched it back, I was feeling the same way that they were, even though it’s me, because it’s a crazy story and it kind of made me want to root for me after seeing what i had to go through, not just in the fight but in life, how everything played out in the end, being emotional and falling to the ground, it makes you want to root for me.
“Seeing my mom crying in the crowd, I said that was going to happen in the interview before the fight. She has been through everything with me my whole life, she’s seen me at my lowest, she’s seen the highs, was there when it looked like I was going down the wrong path, she’s proud of me and I’ve come a long way so I understand where her tears come from, and to make her proud is the best thing in the world.
“It’s a better feeling than I could have ever thought it would be. I didn’t think I would be that emotional after winning the belt. The whole time before the fight I was like ‘I’m going to win this belt and I’ll just feel normal’. I’m not a person that shows a lot of emotion, so I just thought that I would be thinking ‘what’s next’, like I feel now, but in the moment, it was so different. A part of it was what I had to go through in the fight, it was a big moment, a tough one, and then all the things I had to go through in my life, so once I got the belt it’s like, I’ve come a long way and finally, the relief.
“In the moment I was just fighting, I wasn’t thinking about scorecards or nothing like that. When I am in the ring, it’s just me locked in the moment. My team, Eddie, my management, the crowd; I could hear them panicking a little bit and I could hear everything they were saying but I’m in there fighting, I have to focus on this guy fighting me and making sure I get the job done any way possible. I said in the fifth or sixth round that I was going to stop him, I felt I was breaking him down. I said there was no need to panic, I was going to get it done and that’s what I did, I was being patient the whole time, a lot of times he was throwing a lot of punches but a lot of them weren’t connecting. I was allowing him to tire himself out, and waiting on the opportunity to get the right shot in so i could eventually get him out of there.
“I’m always happy to be part of history so I feel great to be the first from the US that Matchroom has built from the ground up to be a World champion. It means a lot, and it’s making me want to accomplish more.”