Ex-WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford 15-1-1 (8) has no regrets about the way he fought Nick Ball 20-0-1 (11) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The stocky Ball, 27, of Liverpool in England presses the action from the opening bell and never relented in his pursuit to get inside and do damage. The 25-year-old Ford, a native of Camden, New Jersey, seemed to want to beat the challenger at his own game and prove he was the bigger, stronger man in close.
Those tactics changed after the halfway point of the fight and Ford had more success at mid and long range , making the bouts close when the final bell rang.
In the end, it was a split decision. Ball was up 115-113 on two cards, while Ford was leading by the same margin on the third.
Ford admitted that Ball was better than he thought going into the bout, saying he thought he had the tools to finish his opponent inside the distance.
“I wasn’t focused on whether I was winning rounds. I was just trying to get the job done. After a certain point in time, I just wanted to stop him. I wasn’t worried about the scorecards. My plan was on getting him out of there,” said Ford to Millcity Boxing.
“It wasn’t the game plan for me to get him out of there. It happened when he hit me with a good shot. That’s when I put it in my head, ‘I’m going to fuck him up and stop him.’ I thought he was better than I expected. He was more tricky.
“It wasn’t my best [performance], but as far as at the moment-wise, that’s number one for sure.”
The fast-paced bout delivered plenty of action and boxing fans could be forgiven for wanting to see the two lock horns again. It’s not an impossibility, but it won’t be happening at 126-pounds.
Ford, who says he has struggled to make the featherweight limit for some time, plans on campaigning at 130-pounds going forward.
“I’m trying to fight [WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie] Foster, but he doesn’t want to fight me, though. His energy is not coming off like he wants to fight me,” he said.
Ford has made his intentions clear on social media platform X, where he posted after the fight: “Hope y’all enjoyed the fight, props to Nick Ball nothing but respect. Gave it all I had today. Off to 130…
“My energy still the same and I still stand on what I said. I’m coming to 130 for them belts meet me there!”
He added: “If Nick Ball move up I’ll be chasing a rematch, I’m not chasing it now cause I’m not killing myself to make 126 no more. I know what I can do and I know I’m still that guy.”
