Boxing expert Chris Oliver is back to preview a cracking card in Liverpool on Saturday night, headlined by the exciting Nick Ball.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday night
2pts Nick Ball to win in rounds 7-12 at 7/4 (Sky Bet)
1pt Andrew Cain to win in rounds 7-12 at 21/10 (bet365)
Frank Warren goes out in style with his final show on TNT Sports on Saturday night.
Queensberry Promotions begin a new broadcast deal with DAZN next month and they sign off with a cracking card in Liverpool, topped by Nick Ball’s WBA featherweight title defence against TJ Doheny.
Active, exciting and unbeaten – Ball has quickly established himself as one of the UK’s most entertaining fighters and, after a stellar 2024, he wants to be at the front of the queue when the brilliant Naoya Inoue finally steps up to 126lb.
Therefore, Doheny makes a lot of sense, given that his last fight was against Inoue and Ball will be desperate to do a better job than the Japanese superstar, who halted Doheny in the seventh round of their September clash.
That took Doheny’s record to 26-5 and he is now 38, but he punched his ticket to a lucrative crack at Inoue with three good stoppage wins in Japan before that defeat and could still have plenty to offer.
Those victories signalled a return to form for the former super bantamweight champion, having lost four out of six between 2019 and 2023, and he did well in the cagey early rounds against Inoue until the champion went through the gears.
Busy Ball rates the best bet
If the Irish-Australian veteran struggled when Inoue picked up the pace, then the last person he wants to be facing next is Ball, who is renowned for his high work-rate and massive engine.
After ending 2023 with a good points win over Isaac Dogboe, Ball (21-0) continued his rapid rise with three big performances last year. Firstly, he was very unlucky not to pick up the WBC belt when drawing with Rey Vargas in Saudi Arabia, before coming out on top in a humdinger with the highly-regarded Raymond Ford to pick up the WBA strap, and then defended it by halting Ronny Rios over 10 one-sided rounds in his homecoming five months ago.
Back in front of his local fans at the M&S Bank Arena, Ball is expected to do a number on the ageing visitor and that is reflected in his odds of 1/12, while few give Doheny much hope of pulling off a 10/1 surprise.
Ball is a best price of 8/13 to register the 13th stoppage of his career, but that loss to Inoue was the first time Doheny had been halted and even that has an asterisk next to it. Although he was coming under heavy fire and the end looked near, Doheny suffered a back injury that forced him to pull out in the seventh session.
So, those looking at the age of the underdog and expected Ball to blow him away early doors could be disappointed, as Doheny knows how to look after himself and has always taken a good shot. He can also give one, with 20 of his 26 wins coming inside the distance.
Still, he is stepping up in weight here and no matter how good his chin is, it could be the relentless pace of Ball that proves Doheny’s undoing.
Ball’s aggression is non-stop, and he carries his power from the first bell to the last, as evidenced by his 12th-round stoppage wins against Nathanael Kakololo (2022) and Ludumo Lamati (2023). He uses his short, stocky frame to his advantage by launching his two-fisted attacks from low down and he is very good on the inside, too.
You can get 3/1 with Sky Bet about Ball getting the job done in inside the first six rounds and while the pocket rocket from Liverpool is certainly capable of landing those odds, I am siding with him to stop his man in the second half at 7/4 with the same firm.
Ball’s best win came against a left-hander in Ford, so he shouldn’t be troubled by the southpaw stance of Doheny, but the latter can be awkward and won’t go over easily. Ball to win via a decision is a 2/1 shot, but I think Doheny will really start to feel the strong pace set by the favourite as the fight goes on and the hometown hero can force the referee to intervene somewhere after the halfway mark.
Count on Cain for late stoppage
Ball is part of the red-hot Everton Red Triangle Gym, and it is a big night for the locally-based stable, with Andrew Cain and Brad Strand also in big fights.
The latter takes on popular Romanian Ionut Baluta, but it’s the British and Commonwealth Bantamweight title contest between Cain and Charlie Edwards that could really steal the show.
After stopping all but one of his first 10 victims, the highly-touted Cain suffered a shock defeat to the aforementioned Baluta, but a broken hand in the first round was blamed for that split decision loss and it was also up at super bantamweight.
He has bounced back in style with three straight knockouts, most notably in winning these belts against Ashley Lane (TKO5) before a two-round blow out of Lazaro Casseres, and he looks much better suited to this lower weight.
Edwards was flying high in 2019 after winning and successfully defending the WBC Flyweight title, but his career unravelled after ‘losing’ to Julio Cesar Martinez via a third-round KO in September of that year. The result was later changed to a no contest after Edwards was hit with a body shot whilst on one knee, but a troubled time outside of the ring followed for the Surrey native and he has only fought five times since.
However, he began a serious comeback with two outings last year, including a unanimous decision victory over Thomas Essomba (13-8-1) to claim the European bantamweight title, and he’s capable of giving Cain, a 4/11 shot, a real fight, despite being as big as 3/1.
Edwards has still only lost once, via a 10th-round TKO in a world title attempt against John Riel Casimero in 2016, and he has the pedigree here as a former world champion. He looks more comfortable at this weight and is technically very sound, with a sharp jab and good footwork.
However, this is a big step up from Essomba, who is tough but basic, and after a good start that night, Edwards didn’t look too comfortable when Essomba increased his output later in the fight.
Edwards can expect a much busier opponent from the get-go here, as Cain is a talented and powerful switch-hitter who, like his gym mate Ball, prefers to get on with things. With smart reflexes and his hands held low, he springs his attacks from all sorts of angles and hits hard to boot.
This could be competitive in the opening quarter, after which I expect Edwards’ age and inactivity to begin to show and Cain can take over with his accurate and spiteful combinations. Once he starts to land cleanly, it could be a matter of time before Cain gets the stoppage (4/6) and I fancy him to do so in the second half of the contest at 21/10.
Posted at 1200 GMT on 14/03/25
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