Preview of Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny: Can the Brit get the knockout earlier than Naoya Inoue?
Inoue stopped Doheny in seven rounds last September
Nick Ball will be looking to make a statement by stopping TJ Doheny quicker than Naoya Inoue tomorrow night.
Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) has been open about wanting to fight Inoue and has an opportunity at the Echo Arena in Liverpool to knockout Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) in fewer rounds.
It seems inevitable that Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) will move up to featherweight and an impressive performance from Ball could kickstart the build-up to a future superfight.
After suffering a majority draw to Rey Vargas just over a year ago, Ball bounced back with a split-decision win over the highly-rated Raymond Ford to become WBA world champion before destroying Ronny Rios in a ten-round homecoming party.
Therefore, it’s difficult to see how Doheny has any chance of emerging victorious against a 28-year-old boxer who is in his prime, is full of confidence, and will have the backing of around 10,000 Liverpudlians in the arena.
Despite carrying punching power with a knockout ratio of over 76%, Doheny has historically come up short when facing the elite fighters in his division, losing to Daniel Roman, Ionut Baluta, Michael Conlan, Sam Goodman, and most recently when challenging Inoue for the Undisputed Super Bantamweight Championship.
Furthermore, at 38 years old, Doheny is arguably past his prime and this bout against Ball could be his last before he retires.
However, Doheny did have some success against Inoue and soaked up a lot of punishment, suggesting that Ball may not be able to blow him out in a few rounds.
Still, the Irishman’s best years came when competing at super bantamweight, defeating Ryosuke Iwasa via unanimous decision to capture the IBF world title and then making a successful first and only defence against Ryohei Takahashi via stoppage.
Regardless, we can expect a highly entertaining spectacle as Nick ‘The Wrecking’ Ball likes to come forward and land bombs which will provide chances for Doheny to counter with a big left hand.
And Doheny, as the taller man at five foot five and a half inches will have more of a reach advantage compared to when he fought Inoue who is only listed to be half an inch shorter than him.
At best, Doheny has a puncher's chance to score a massive upset, yet a stoppage win for Ball feels like the more likely outcome.
Apart from Inoue, a solid victory for Ball could lead to a unification bout against one of the other world champions at 126 lbs such as Rafael Espinoza, Angelo Leo, or Stephen Fulton.
After all, Inoue returns on May 4 to face Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas and there is no guarantee the Japanese superstar will win or opt to challenge for a world title in a fifth weight division.
I actually like dana white, but to say at the outset thay wont be working with any other promoters while so many ranked fighters are contractually tied to promoters and managers who are tied into promoters kind of signals a death knell for the way things have always been done. And believe me, thats not good either. Im 66 dude, boxed in the amateurs in ny and also worked with the nys athletic commision as a young attorney years ago, when mike tyson fought all of his early fights in ny i was there. Boxing has needed a national tsar and uniform federal regulations for years, but how do you do that effectively when the big fights now are overseas. I remember the tuesday night fights on espn, periodic fights on usa, all free, and later the hbo and showtime stuff was even reasonable cost wise. I paid for dazone when it first came out. Remember... Never pay for a fight again! Bait and switch. I still pay for the big ones and gladly if the cards are like the recent one with parker, zhang and the others. Anyway and btw, that heavyweight from the mideast is very dangerous. Hes a bit older and might be peaking too late but on a good night he can handle anyone, even usyk who i really like. Its the body shots. No heavyweight since jack dempsey body punches like this guy ( obviously i forgot his name) anyway, take care.
I like Nick Ball. I have seen three of his fights and in two of them, early on he looked like he wouldnt make it. Hes very strong, a heavy handed guy and tough as nails, but truth be told, inoue will take him apart and it wont be pretty. Nick is one of those guys who can have a very successful career fighting guys from his backyard but there are several boxers on the world stage right now who can handle him. Will it always be a good fight? Yes, but in the sense that hes not afraid to go for broke and go out on his shield. But will they be close? I dont think so. There are so many good fights to be made in the uk with closely matched fighters and having small town rivalry flavor ( think Dave allen versus just about any uk heavy) and they sell tickets. Some guys need to be kept home while there is still that prospect. By this I mean i am one who hasnt been drinking the Turki al shiek koolaid. I see a monopoly forming and every boxing commentator and critic has been bought off by trips to fights and lavish accomodations. Meanwhile the purses that are being paid are inflated and just cant last. Once we are down to having only one legitimate (ie sold to the public) belt champions again, the money will dry up for every fighter except those designated by Ridayh for greatness. And they wont be the best fighters. By then promoters like hearn and frank will be like local promoters from the old days. Look who turki just teamed up with, Dana white! The UFC model is what they aspire to and what boxing will become. Then all the "experts" will be whining. But meanwhile, they all are bought off. Teddy Atlas, mr. I care about the sport, has a podcast with a modest viewership yet is flown over to ridayh with his son, for every fight card. And you know darn well he doesnt come up for air. So why? To keep his big loud, critical mouth shut tight.
Im venting obviously, so sorry!