Tyson Fury believes that boxing would ‘be in trouble’ if one fighter in particular wasn’t so small.
Fury was referring to Nick Ball, who is the current WBA featherweight champion and currently the only British male boxer to presently hold a belt.
Ball won the featherweight belt in June 2024 as he defeated Raymond Ford and successfully defended his title against Sam Goodman back in August.
The 28-year-old, nicknamed the ‘Wrecking Ball’, put in a battling performance to defeat Goodman in Saudi Arabia, doing so by unanimous decision after the judges scored the bout 118-110, 117-111, 115-113 in Ball’s favour.
Ball successfully defended WBA featherweight title in August
Victory over Goodman was Ball’s 23rd from 24 fights, 13 of which have been by knockout, but he looked deflated after the bout despite the win.
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“It was good - it wasn't the best performance but we got the job done,” Ball told DAZN via BBC Sport.
“I think I got into it a bit too much, but the main thing is that everyone is enjoying what they are watching.”
Ball’s trainer, Paul Stevenson, said of the fight against Goodman: “He [Ball] probably feels it wasn’t his best performance. Goodman done a decent job of making it tricky.
“He was tough. It was just tricky for Nick to pin him down the way we wanted to.
“But as I say, Goodman is good and he’ll probably go on to prove that again in his next few fights.”
While Ball doesn’t officially have another fight pencilled and will return to the ring in 2026, with his team are pushing for a world title unification bout.
Stevenson has specifically targeted the IBF champion Angelo Leo, telling The Ring via DAZN: “Personally, I’d like that Angelo Leo fight, a unification.
“It’d be great and just what he needs, really. Another challenge. A big fight and cement his legacy because a lot of people complain about the level of opposition.”
'Little Nick Ball is a fantastic fighter'
Ball, standing at 5’2’, hasn’t allowed his height to impact his boxing career, which started in Liverpool in 2017, but 6’9’ Fury took the chance to poke fun at the former’s height, albeit stating if he were taller, then every boxer would be in danger.
“I think little Nick Ball is a fantastic fighter. God made him 160 cm for a reason. If he were 195 cm, we’d all be in danger!” Fury said back in March.
“He’s a true English pit bull terrier. Honestly, I love watching him fight. Even though he beat my friend Isaac Lowe, I’m a huge fan of little Nick Ball. He’s a real puncher.”
Ball has previously had praise from Anthony Joshua and recently Fury as he looks to cement himself as one Britain’s best boxers.
Topics: Tyson Fury, Boxing
Ben McAleer