Nick Ball retained his WBA featherweight title with a punishing tenth-round stoppage win over TJ Doheny in front of a buoyant home crowd in Liverpool.
Ball was making the second defence of the title he won in a 2024 thriller against Raymond Ford in Riyadh. Veteran Irish southpaw Doheny, a former IBF super bantamweight champion, made it his business to try and prevent such fireworks.
The 38-year-old was boxing for the first time since his unsuccessful challenge for Naoya Inoue's undisputed super bantamweight crown last September and frustrated Ball early on. Indeed, a tangle at the end of round one finished with Ball kicking Doheny in the leg. After his opponent fell to the floor, Ball could have had no complaints if he'd been disqualified, and it was remarkable that referee Michael Alexander did not even deduct a point.
Ball was later penalised on the cards for throwing Doheny to the canvas, but the relentless nature of his attacks started to make dents around halfway. Rounds nine and ten were a brutal ordeal for the brave visitor, and, with his right eye almost swollen shut and a battered jaw, Doheny's corner decided they had seen enough.
Inoue will step out in Las Vegas against Ramon Cardenas in May. If the modern great wants to try to reign at a fifth weight, Ball and his team have served notice that their man is open for business.
WATCH: Nick Ball vs. TJ Doheny on TNT Sports
Queensberry
After taking stock for the first minute, Ball clattered home a pair of headshots off the jab. His underrated left lead was key to a pulverising performance.
Towards the end of the opener, Doheny goaded and teased Ball with his hands down. They were in a clinch at the bell in Doheny's corner, and the older man refused to release a headlock on Ball, who responded by thrusting a knee into the back of his tormentor's leg. Alexander took a somewhat laissez-faire approach and sought to restore order before the start of round two but was soon admonishing Doheny for his constant verbals.
A left hook to the body and an uppercut from the same wing marked a sharp start to the third from Ball. Doheny responded with a fine right to the midsection of his own, and each man had success with combinations from their contrasting stances. A winging Ball left to the top of the head had Doheny looking disorganised for the first time.
After some early thundering pressure from Ball in round four, the pair traded in centre ring, and a cute Doheny left to the body caught the eye. The challenger then punched back well off the ropes under fire, while more clever work on the back foot in the fifth left the impression Ball was being dictated to by his opponent in terms of style and tempo. It was not an impression built to last.
Drama in round ten 👀
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More of the champion's headshots got through early in the sixth, and Ball engaged whirling dervish mode. The left to the body remained in play for Doheny, but he was feeling the pace. His legs buckled from a short one-two, and the final 20 seconds of the session were heavy going for the Irishman, who trudged wearily back to his corner.
Ball continued to bang away on the front foot. Doheny's eye-catching counters were becoming less frequent and the home favourite's trademark volume did not drop. He boomed home swarming lefts and right, their impact written across Doheny's swollen features.
The champ had a point taken off for roughhousing his opponent to the floor in round nine, but that was not about to halt his forward momentum. Body shots were also having an effect and Doheny's mouth was agape at the end of the session, suggesting potential jaw damage to go with the exhaustion.
Doheny was trapped in his own corner early in round ten, and Ball sensed the end. The veteran was in survival mode as he staggered back from shots to the top of the head. A Doheny low blow brought a ticking off from the referee and a much-needed breather.
He still had options to score legally downstairs — a notable and persistent weakness that might trouble Ball against someone of Inoue's calibre — but the champion would not be disuaded nor denied, and the corner stoppage was a good one.
WATCH: Nick Ball vs. TJ Doheny on TNT Sports
Nick Ball vs. TJ Doheny fight card
- Nick Ball (c) def. TJ Doheny (TKO 10/12) to retain the WBA featherweight title
- Jack Turner def. Ryan Farrag (KO 2/10); Super Flyweights
- Andrew Cain (c) def. Charlie Edwards (SD 12) to retain the British and Commonwealth super bantamweight titles
- Jadier Herrera def. Jose Macias (TKO 7/10); Lightweights
- Ionut Baluta def. Brad Strand (SD 10); Super Bantamweights
- Stephen Clarke def. Dmitri Protkunas (PTS 6); Middleweights
- Joe Bourne draw. Cristian Uwaka; (PTS 4) Heavyweights
- William Birchall def. Engel Gomez (TKO 2/4); Featherweights
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