Nick Ball stepped into the ring at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, on October 5, to defend his featherweight title against Ronny Rios of Compton, California. The hometown hero was met with high expectations as he looked to make a statement in his main event homecoming.
Ball delivered a dominant performance, dropping Rios multiple times throughout the fight. The British champion sent Rios to the canvas in the third, seventh, and 10th rounds, with the final knockdown causing Rios to fall out of the ring. The accumulation of damage led to Rios' corner throwing in the towel, prompting referee Bob Williams to halt the bout at 2:06 in the 10th round. This TKO victory saw Ball improve to 21-0-1, 12 KOs, and successfully defend his WBA featherweight title for the first time. Afterward, the 27-year-old Liverpool native expressed his eagerness to face other champions, particularly setting his sights on unifying the featherweight division.
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The co-main event showcased an all-English showdown between Jack Rafferty and Henry Turner. Rafferty retained his Commonwealth and WBC International "Silver" belts and claimed the vacant British title after Turner’s corner retired him following nine rounds of action, earning Rafferty a win by RTD.
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In other results from the night, English bantamweight Jack Turner knocked out Gonzalo Corinaldesi of Argentina in the first round. Meanwhile, in a super welterweight bout, Walter Fury secured a four-round points decision against Dale Arrowsmith. Cuban lightweight Jadier Herrera claimed the vacant WBA Intercontinental title with a third-round TKO against Nicaragua's Oliver Flores. Local favorite Andrew Cain took the vacant WBC International "Silver" bantamweight title after stopping Colombia's Lazaro Casseres in the second round.
Kicking off the main card, English middleweight Joe Cooper earned a 40-37 points decision win over Lukasz Barabasz of Poland.
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