Donovan vs Ball Prediction: An Irishman’s Showcase
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Grant Young
With so many excellent fights taking place at Dublin's 3Arena Saturday night, a Donovan vs Ball prediction — which will be the third to last fight taking place on DAZN's Cameron vs Taylor 2 card — might fly under the radar. Yet, any true boxing enthusiasts know an excellent prospect when they see one, and that's exactly what we'll witness on Saturday night when Paddy Donovan enters the ring.
Donovan — the undefeated, 24-year-old Irishman — will face his toughest test to date this weekend, which makes a Paddy Donovan vs Danny Ball prediction a tough ask. What's for sure is that whichever one of these two young fighters gets their hand raised at the end of their fight for the WBA Continental Welterweight title Saturday night will emerge as a massive superstar.
Cameron vs Taylor 2: Donovan vs Ball Prediction
Paddy Donovan Preview
Paddy “Real Deal” Donovan is a 24-year-old Irish boxer with an undefeated 11-0 record that includes 8 KO's. While Saturday's clash will be the first title fight of Donovan's young career, if he was to make a Donovan vs Ball prediction, we know exactly what we would say: a knockout finish is in store.
And if you look at Paddy Donovan's most recent fights (or any of his pad work from this week's open workout), a KO finish for him seems likely. Donovan's most impressive victory to date was his last one, which was a sixth-round corner stoppage victory over Sam O'Maison that also took place at Dublin's 3Arena back in May.
After the southpaw Donovan established an early lead in that O'Maison bout, he unleashed a vicious flurry of punches in the fourth round, brutalizing O'Maison with right hooks and uppercuts up the middle, and finished the round on flair with a bolo punch right as the bell sounded. O'Maison looked like he wanted nothing more to do with Donovan after that, and his corner threw in the towel two rounds later.
Paddy Donovan will have a huge power advantage during his fight on Saturday's Cameron vs Taylor 2 card. Yet, he will also be the smaller fighter in the ring, having a two-inch height disadvantage against Danny Ball. For this reason, solid defensive head movement will be crucial for Donovan as he enters and exits range. If Donovan can avoid excessive damage and can crush Ball's body with hooks in the early rounds, that should open up opportunities for the finish later on in the fight.
Danny Ball Preview
Danny Ball is an English boxer with a 13-1-1 record that includes 8 KO's. Although Ball is entering this fight as a sizable +500 underdog, he would say that a fair Donovan vs Ball prediction would be that experience will win the day — and Ball has experience in spades.
Despite suffering his only professional loss via knockout in 2021 against Ekow Essuman, Ball has responded to that crushing defeat with three straight victories, including an extremely impressive stoppage victory against Jamie Robinson back in May.
What stood out the most about Ball in that fight was the power and precision he displayed in the fight's early rounds — nearly knocking Robinson out as early as the second round.
This is exactly what Ball will need to do in order to defeat Donovan on Saturday. Being the taller, leaner fighter, he'll want to start fast and tire the more muscular Donovan, which should cancel out the power disadvantage that Ball will enter this fight with.
If he can continue to pepper Donovan with a jab to set up more powerful punches, Danny Ball could get his hand raised — and leave the 3Arena with the biggest purse of his life.
Donovan vs Ball: A Surprising Decision in Store?
Our Donovan vs Ball prediction is that Paddy Donovan will win the fight via unanimous decision — which is currently available at +225.
While we believe this fight will be closer than the current odds might lead you to believe, we are confident that the Irishman fighting at home will get his hand raised.
The power differential is the biggest reason we back Paddy Donovan in this fight. Donovan has proven that he has one-punch knockout power — and while Danny Ball doesn't have pillow fists by any means, Donovan has the clear power advantage. And considering that Ball has been knocked out in his career before, a Donovan KO wouldn't be surprising.
But we think that Ball's experience advantage will enable him to weather the storm enough to finish the fight on his feet — perhaps even scoring a decision victory. Yet, this Ball vs Donovan fight is meant to be a showcase for Donovan. It would shock Donovan if he didn't get his hand raised in Dublin.
What's beautiful about boxing is that we never know for sure until the fight happens, which is why we'll all be tuning in to this fight Saturday night.
Grant Young is a sports writer from San Francisco. He has had two professional Muay Thai fights: he got knocked out in one, and got a knockout in the other. When it comes to his favorite fighters, it's Israel Adesanya, and then it's everyone else.
