WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball weighed in at 125.9 lbs and challenger TJ Doheny came in at 126 after weighing in initially at 126.1 at Friday’s weigh-in for their 12-round headliner this Saturday, March 15th at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.
(Credit: Queensberry)
Fulton Aim
Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) admits that the selection of 38-year-old TJ Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) wasn’t his choice of opponent, but he leaves it up to his manager and promoter to select who he fights. He’s taken a lot of criticism for fighting this older fighter, who is coming off a knockout loss to Naoya Inoue last September.
If that’s how Ball, 28, is matched by his promoter, he could hold onto his WBA belt forever. However, Nick says he hopes to fight a unification next, and the guy he wants is WBC champ, Stephen Fulton, who recently captured the belt from Brandon Figueroa last month.
Weigh-In Results
Nick Ball – 125.9
TJ Doheny – 126
Jadier Herrera – 134.9
Jose Macias Enriquez – 134.2
Of all the fighters on Saturday’s undercard, the real talent to keep an eye on is Cuban lightweight contender Jadier Herrera (16-0, 14 KOs). He’s the best of the bunch by far and could soon be getting a world title shot if he’s not avoided like we saw last month with WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson swerving him in favor of fighting Josh Padley on the February 22nd event in Riyadh.
Herrera is fighting Jose Macias Enriquez (21-3-2, 8 KOs) in a 10-round scheduled fight. Don’t blink. Herrera will likely obliterate this guy within two or three rounds.
Passive Path
“Not really. I don’t look into that,” said Nick Ball to iFL TV when asked if TJ Doheny was his choice of opponent. I just focus on my training. My manager and promoter, Frank, they sort all that. I’m just ready for anyone and whoever it is on fight night, I fight them,” said Ball, revealing that he takes a passive, non-assertive approach to the choosing of his opponents.
“I expect a tough fight. I feel like saying, ‘Come back to me when he’s at my weight,’ because he’s still at super bantam. When he’s at my weight, come back to me, I’ll be waiting for him,” said Ball about the constant questions he gets about undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, expected to target him when he moves up to 126.
“There could be a fight in between that [Inoue moving up to face Ball], and hopefully, that can be a unification. That would be good, and then later in the year, we’ll see if that fight happens. Overall, the main path is Saturday night. That belt [WBC] is my belt and I’m coming for that belt [currently held by Stephen Fulton]. That’s going to be mine. Hopefully, one day I can fight for it and get it back because I should have it,” said Ball.
Last Updated on 03/14/2025
