Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny Fight Results: Ball Earns 10th Rd TKO

After a quiet opening round, tempers flared after the bell. Doheny had Ball in a headlock, who then lashed out with a kick that sent the Irishman falling to the floor. The referee let it go on both accounts and after a quick warning, normal play resumed for the second round. Ball pressed the action in another quiet round. Doheny was on the backfoot attempting to frustrate the world champion, but Ball caught him with a straight left towards the end.

Ball appeared to make a breakthrough with a shot to the top of the head in round four, but Doheny’s awkward movement, always moving backward, had forced the champion to approach the contest slightly more tactically than usual. Doheny offered little threat, but there was a minor air of frustration to Ball’s work.

Doheny did start to attack at the beginning of the fifth, coming forward to land a body shot combination. However, Ball showed no signs of pain and continued to press on against the tricky 38-year-old in a quiet round. Ball needed to raise the bar in the sixth and would have Doheny on the canvas, but was it called a push. Ball landed a thudding left-right combination to the head with 30 seconds until the bell and would close the round with a leading left uppercut.

Ball started quickly in the seventh, but Doheny would land a good counter in return. Ball landed a solid left hand to the head as he momentarily switched stance. Doheny did work Ball on the ropes as the round ended, but the Liverpudlian had little respect for his opponent’s power. The eighth started with Ball landing a left-right combination. Ball loaded up to land a powerful right hand to the head, making Doheny stumble back.

Doheny was again on the canvas to start round nine, but it was for the second time a push with the referee deducting a point from the defending champion. Ball was putting his punching together more and more as Doheny’s face became increasingly swollen. Ball still looked fresh during a good round despite the penalty in comparison to the wilting Irishman.

The pressure continued to pile on in the tenth for Doheny. Ball opened the round aggressively, landing multiple shots as the referee watched closely. Ball went for the finish in the final 30 seconds, relentlessly landing on the brave Doheny, but the bell would finally come. The corner took the initiative, waving the fight off as soon as Doheny came to his stool.

Ball continues his accent with the label of ‘the country’s most exciting fighter.’ His promoter, Frank Warren, plans to match his charge with superstar Naoya Inoue “later this year.”

Undercard Results

In the chief support, super flyweight Jack Turner produced a brutal second-round stoppage against Ryan Farrag. Turner (11-0, 10 KOs) went for the end in the first round, attacking Farrag (23-6, 6 KOs) in the last seconds of the opening round, landing a big left hook as he cornered his opponent to land a body shot. Tuner came roaring out of the gates in the second round. The Liverpool man attacked Farrag wildly on the ropes, landing a string of left and rights to send him to the floor with only 41 seconds into the second round.

Andrew Cain (14-1, 12 KOs) secured the British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles with a split-decision victory over Charlie Edwards (20-2, 7 KOs). In a less than an exciting affair, one judge scored the contest 115-113 to Edwards, and Cain saw 115-114 and 116-112 in his favour.

Cuban southpaw Jadier Herrera (17-0, 15 KOs) stopped Mexico’s Jose Macias Enriquez (21-4-2, 8 KOs) in the seventh round. The lightweight retained a WBA regional title to continue his march into the top 15 of the rankings. He currently sits at number 14 in the WBA rankings.

Ball’s stablemate Brad Strand (12-2, 4 KOs) suffered heartache in his hometown after losing a split decision against Romanian upsetter Ionut Baluta (17-5-1, 3 KOs). Strand was down in the ninth round, but one judge did give him the nod at 97-93 but Ionut claimed the WBO European super bantamweight title with scores of 98-91 and 96-94.