Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball Preview June 1st, 2024
Undefeated WBA Featherweight Champion Raymond Ford of Camden, New Jersey defends the belt for the first time this Saturday, June 1st when he takes on England’s unbeaten Nick Ball over in Saudi Arabia. Ford won the title in March with a dramatic last round TKO over Otabek Kholmatov with just seven seconds to go in the fight while trailing on two of the three scorecards 106-103. The 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view. Ball last fought in March as well when he battled to a controversial draw with Rey Vargas in a shot at the WBC Featherweight Title despite dropping Vargas in the eighth and 11th rounds.
Ford vs Ball Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Nick Ball +135
- Raymond Ford -165
My Pick
Ford is a 25-year-old southpaw who owns a near-perfect record of 15-0-1 with 8 Ko’s. He turned pro back in 2019 and has 101 rounds of experience to his name. Ford enjoyed a fine amateur career which saw him win the 2018 U.S. National Golden Gloves Championships and take silver at the 2017 and 2018 National championships. Since turning pro he’s beaten every opponent other than Aaron Perez, who went the distance with him in an eight-round draw in 2021.
He won the vacant WBA Continental Featherweight Title in 2021 when he stopped Reece Bellotti in the third round and added the vacant IBF North American Featherweight Belt with a 10-round unanimous decision over Richard Medina in June, 2022. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 69-inch reach and carries decent power in his punches as 53.3 per cent of his wins have come by knockout, but this includes just two of his last five victories. He also has wins over Jessie Magdaleno and Edward Vazquez.
The 27-year-old Ball of Liverpool, enters the contest with a near-perfect mark of 19-0-1 with 11 Ko’s and has 102 rounds of pro experience to his name since making his debut in 2017. Prior to that he enjoyed a good amateur career which saw him box at the 2013 Great Britain Junior Championships. He measures 5-feet-2-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up five inches in height to Ford. He also has decent power in his fists with 58 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage and has gone the distance in his last two fights.
He won five fights in a row by stoppage and 11 of 13 until going the distance with Isaac Dogboe last November and had been a bit of a wrecking ball over that stretch. That being said just one of his first 11 opponents had a winning record. Ball won the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title in April, 2022 when he stopped Isaac Lowe in the sixth round and has defended it three times against Nathanael Kakololo, Jesus Ramirez Rubio and Ludumo Lamati, all by stoppage. Two of those wins came in the 12th and final round so it’s obvious Ball’s power is still evident late in fights.
Prediction…
Ford and Ball are both solid young pros with excellent skills and enough power to do some damage, even late in fights. Both boxers have good chins and will need them but as far as pure boxing skills go, Ford has the slight edge while Ball is a bit of a bulldog in the ring. I’m expecting Ford to do enough to edge out a win here but it’s not going to be easy.
This is a close call but Ford should prevail due to his boxing skills.
Play: Ford -165 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Nick Ball betting • Raymond Ford betting