Three Potential Next Opponents for Raymond Ford

Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) became the WBA featherweight world champion in dramatic fashion against Otabek Kholmatov (12-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night.

The American trailed on two of the judges’ scorecards going into round 12 when he stopped his opponent with only seconds remaining until the final bell. With the win, Ford became a world titlist for the very first time. Attention now turns towards potential future opponents.

Three Opponents for Raymond Ford

Nick Ball

Nick Ball (19-0, 11 KOs) is set to be a part of “Knockout Chaos,” a card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that is part of Riyadh Season, a state-funded entertainment and sports festival. He will face Rey Vargas for the WBC featherweight title.

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Should the Liverpudlian win, promoter Eddie Hearn has said he is willing to make a unification between Ball and Ford. The Matchroom Boxing head is prepared to put such a fight on the potential 5 v 5 card – pitting his fighters against Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotion boxers.

Rocky Hernández

In the post-fight interview, Ford spoke about potentially moving to 130 lbs. If that is the case, Eduardo “Rocky” Hernández (34-2, 31 KOs) would be a good way for him to introduce himself at super featherweight. The Mexican fighter is coming off a technical knockout loss to WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster.

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He remains in that sanctioning body’s rankings and has a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing. In theory, making a fight between the two should not be the hardest of tasks.

Winner of Jordan Gill vs. Zelfa Barrett

On April 13, Jordan Gill (28-2-1, 9 KOs) faces Zelfa Barrett (30-2, 16 KOs) at the Manchester Arena. Since both hold rankings in the sanctioning bodies – a fight against either would help Ford work towards another title shot. The two Brits are also with Matchroom Boxing, making a bout with Ford easier to make.