GB’s Ball battles past Goodman to retain world title

Briton Nick Ball retained his WBA featherweight title with a battling performance to beat Sam Goodman by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia.

The Liverpudlian remains Britain’s only reigning male world champion after the judges scored it 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113.

Ball, 28, suffered a cut to the side of his right eye in the final round but otherwise looked comfortable back in the country where he won the belt in June 2024.

Despite extending his undefeated record to 23 wins and one draw, he looked deflated when he gave his post-fight interview in the ring.

“It was good – it wasn’t the best performance but we got the job done,” Ball told DAZN.

The 5ft 2in (1.57m) Ball struggled to find his range in the early rounds and was consistently caught on entry as Goodman sat on the back foot.

‘The Wrecking Ball’, who made his professional debut in a Liverpool nightclub in 2017, was marked up around his nose by the time he settled into proceedings.

Ball began to have success by changing levels and stances – switching between his traditional orthodox and southpaw – landing heavy with a straight right in the fifth.

He was always stalking the Australian and a stinging one-two in round seven drew a reaction from both Goodman and the crowd at ANB Arena in Riyadh.

Goodman, fighting outside of his homeland for the first time, rarely committed to combinations and trusted that he could pick Ball apart with a precise jab – but many of his punches landed on the gloves.

With the contest seemingly getting away from Goodman, who was sporting a bruise under his right eye, his corner stressed that he “could not afford to drop another round” after the ninth.

Known as a pressure fighter, Ball turned up the tempo in the latter stages with more combination work – ensuring he ended most rounds on top in a bid to impress the judges.

Ball was cut in the corner of his right eye early in the final round but bit down on his gumshield as the pair exchanged right on the bell to punctuate a highly entertaining battle.

Unification could be next for Ball – with Stephen Fulton holding the WBC belt, Angelo Leo in possession of the IBF title and Rafael Espinoza the WBO champion.

Ball also has ambitions to take on Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue.

Earlier in the night, British heavyweight David Adeleye suffered the second loss of his career with a unanimous decision defeat by Filip Hrgovic.

All three judges gave it to Hrgovic, 33, with two cards reading 99-90 and the other 98-91.

The Croatian was cut above his right eye in round three but came on strong to put Adeleye down with a clubbing right in the eighth, moments after the Londoner had stuck out his tongue defiantly.

Remarkably, Adeleye came back with a barrage of punches after climbing off the canvas but he emptied the tank and had little to offer as Hrgovic saw it through to the final bell.