Nick Ball Aims to Outshine Naoya Inoue Against TJ Doheny

WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball aims to surpass Naoya Inoue’s performance against TJ Doheny when he defends his title against the 38-year-old this Saturday, March 15th, at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.

The 28-year-old Ball is the favorite to retain his belt in front of his home crowd, with much of Thursday’s press conference centered around speculation about a future showdown with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue. Responding to Doheny’s remarks about showing him what a quitter looks like, Ball made it clear that giving up isn’t an option, declaring he’d “rather die than quit.”

A seasoned fighter with 31 bouts and five losses, Doheny previously held the IBF super-bantamweight world title from 2018 to 2019. He faced undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue last September but suffered a back injury in the seventh round, ultimately leading to his defeat.

Many expected Doheny to push through the injury and go out on his shield like a warrior. Hopefully, his back issues won’t resurface, forcing him to surrender once again. Meanwhile, Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) has drawn criticism for selecting Doheny as his title defense opponent instead of top contenders like Bruce Carrington and Brandon Figueroa. However, this matchup is clearly a strategic business move, as it appeals to the UK audience and presents a lower-risk option for Ball.

“I’m going to want to do a better job than him [ Naoya Inoue], and I feel like I can do that,” said Nick Ball to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions about defeating TJ Doheny.

“That’s what he’s saying,” said Ball when told that Doheny said that he’s going to show who the quitter is. He’s going to need to be fit to do that.

“He’s going to have to kill me to do that. I’d rather die than quit. Good luck with that one. It seems to be, yeah. He seems to be a bit angry,” said Ball when asked if he has the mental edge over TJ Doheny.

“I don’t know if that was what he was like in his previous fights or if he has to get up like that to get up for a fight.

“Yeah, he seems a bit angry. You don’t want to be facing me angry. There’s going to come a time where he’s going to try and knock me out. When you try to do that, you have to be careful that you don’t get knocked out yourself,” said Ball.