Weekend Boxing Roundup: Nick Ball, Janibek Alimkhanuly Defend Titles

Two world champions defended their titles this weekend in cards that flew under the radar in the U.S. due to competition with playoff baseball and college football. Catch up here with NY Fights.

Nick Ball Delivers Brilliant Homecoming Performance

In his first fight at home since 2020, WBA World Featherweight champion Nick Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) returned to Liverpool, England, standing tall in a tenth-round TKO win over durable Ronny Rios of Santa Ana, California (34-5, 17 KOs). Ball scored knockdowns against an outgunned Rios in the third and seventh rounds, then nearly sent him out of the ring in the tenth before Rios’s corner asked the fight be stopped at 2:06 of the round.

At the time of the stoppage, the scorecards read 90-80, 89-80, and 88-81 for Ball.

Despite giving up six inches in height to Ronny Rios, Nick Ball had no issues laying leather on his opponent. Photo: Leigh Dawney, Queensberry Boxing

It was a fight of beautiful brutality capping the Queensberry Promotions card seen in the U.S. on ESPN-Plus. Ball came out full of fire, going right at the veteran Rios and drilling him seemingly at will. Rios, age 34, has been in tough fights. The match against Ball was his third title challenge after losses to Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Rey Vargas.

Even when he’s taking punishment as he did Saturday, Rios can dish it out, and he made Ball work for the victory.

Ball mixed up his punches well, going to both the head and body and throwing in combination. But Rios accumulated damage on Ball for his troubBloodlood poured from Ball’s by the fourth roundnose, and it seemed broken. But it did not slow the man known as “Wrecking Ball” down, as his corner team did what it could to keep it from stopping the fight.

Nick Ball may have suffered a broken nose in his fight with Ronny Rios in the fourth round. Photo: Leigh Dawney, Queensberry Promotions

The third and final knockdown came after a series of punches ending in hooks to both sides of the head, nearly throwing Rios out of the ring under the ropes. No one would have thought less of Rios had he been counted out. But he got up and got back into the ring to beat the count.

As referee Bob Williams was deciding whether to stop the fight, Rios’s corner wisely threw in the towel to save their man from any more damage. No one can doubt Rios’s determination, toughness, and sheer heart.

The partisan crowd at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool last saw Ball as a prospect fighting in six-round bouts. To say they were thrilled is an understatement, and the feeling was mutual.

A Good 2024 For Nick Ball

Nick Ball sent Ronny Rios through the ropes in the tenth round. Photo: Leigh Dawney, Queensberry Promotions

Delighted, massive turnout for me,” Ball said. “To be honest, I think I got a bit carried away with the crowd and got hit with a few too many shots. It is what it is. It made for a good fight, so it was exciting.” No argument there.

Asked about the bloody mess on his face, Ball shrugged it off. “My nose always goes, it’s boxing, isn’t it? That’s what makes champions.”

Ball has victories over Isaac Dogboe, Raymond Ford, and a hotly disputed draw against Rey Vargas all in the last 11 months. This is the type of activity fans want from a champion.

Nick Ball says he’s ready to unify the featherweight division. Photo: Leigh Dawney, Queensberry Promotions

Asked about a Vargas rematch to avenge the single draw on his record, Ball said Vargas is just one of the fights he needs to unify the featherweight division. “The ones with the belts. I’ve got one of four. I’m coming for them,” said Ball. Vargas holds the WBC title, Rafael Espinoza the WBO title, and Angelo Leo the IBF title. Not a bad matchup in the bunch.

Ball’s trainer Paul Stevenson called it “a tough fight, fight of the year. Nick is a force of nature. He’s unstoppable, getting better every fight.”

Stevenson said he’s all for lining up unification fights against the other champions. “Let’s get them on as soon as possible. For me, he’s the most exciting fighter in the world. To do what he’s doing at this level, he’s one of the best fighters in the world.”

Janibek Alimkhanuly Stops Andrei Mikhailovich in Nine Rounds

Janibek Alimkhanuly knocked Andrei Mikhailovich into the ropes for the third and final knockdown in their fight on Friday in Sydney, Australia. Photo: No Limit Boxing

Middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly of Kazahkstan (16-0, 11 KOs) had just one of his two titles on the line, successfully defending his IBF belt with a ninth-round TKO win over Andrei Mikhailovich of New Zealand  (21-1, 13 KOs) at The Star Sydney in Pyrmont, Australia.

The win itself was no surprise. The surprise was how long the overwhelmed Mikhalilovich managed to last against Alimkhanuly.

Uppercuts were Alimkhanuly’s weapon of choice. He knocked down Mikhailovich near the bell at the end of the second round. With time for a count and additional action, Mikhailovich would never have survived. But the outcome seemed a foregone conclusion. Still, Mikhailovich carried on despite being damaged goods.

Finally, after Alimkhanuly landed two more left uppercuts in the ninth round, sending Mikhailovich backward into the ropes, referee Katsuhiko Nakamura called it a night at 2:45 minutes of round nine.

Brave as the challenger was, he had no business in the ring with Alimkhanuly, who landed 48% of his power punches and outlanded Mikhailovich overall 177 punches to 103 punches, including 152 power punches.

Janibek Alimkhanuly overwhelmed Andrei Mikhailovich, whose level of opposition was not good enough to prepare him for a title fight. Photo: No Limit Boxing

After the fight, Alimkhanuly called for unification fights against the other title holders in the diminished middleweight division.

“I do have two titles, and the [other] two titles are missing. Any of them, (Carlos) Adames or (Erislandy) Lara, I’m ready. Anytime, whatever, send me a paper. I’ll send it anytime.”

It’s hard to pinpoint why Alimkhanuly is such an unpleasant fighter to watch. The 41-year-old Lara will be hard-pressed to offer much against him, but Carlos Adames could fare better. We’re looking forward to seeing exciting British middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz advance to the point he’s ready to take on Alimkhanuly and breathe some life into the moribund middleweight division.