Nick Ball Battles Raymond Ford to Split Decision Win; Willy Hutchinson Dominates Craig Richards

Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) eked out a split decision win against Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 KOs) to become the WBA featherweight champion.

While one judge saw it 115-113 for Ford, the other two had it 115-113 for Ball. With the win, the Liverpool native becomes a world titlist for the first time in his career. It comes just three months after Ball had to settle for a draw while challenging for the WBC strap against Rey Vargas.

The fight took place on a card that pits five Matchroom Boxing fighters against five from Queensberry Promotions. Fight fans were able to catch the action live as a PPV on DAZN. Those in the United Kingdom could also purchase it from TNT Sports, discovery+, Sky, EE TV and Prime Video.

Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5 took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is part of Riyadh Season, a state-funded entertainment and sports festival. The Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority is responsible for its organization.

Matchroom vs. Queensberry Opening Two Fights

Nick Ball Wins WBA Featherweight Title via Split Decision

Ball was aggressive early on, pushing his opponent back with his flurries of punches. Despite the Englishman being the smaller fighter, Ford was able to land to the body regularly. A small cut opened by the end of round three under the right eye of the American.

Ford was able to block a number of punches with his gloves, but still had some struggles with the aggression of his opponent. The middle rounds were a much better time for him, landing hard left hooks. Ball had his nose busted in round seven, causing blood to pour from it. He was not deterred by this and continued to fight at the pace he has become known for.

The final round was fought at an aggressive pace, with both fighters trading at close quarters. Ball was briefly stunned by an uppercut, but remained standing on his feet and continued to trade with Ford. The fight itself was a close battle between the two, but in the end, two of the judges saw Ball doing enough work over 12 rounds.

Willy Hutchinson Boxes to Victory Against Craig Richards

Willy Hutchinson (18-1, 13 KOs) boxed his way to a unanimous decision win against Craig Richards (18-4-1, 11 KOs) to kick off the 5v5 card.

Scores for the bout were 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112. Hutchinson dominated the first half of the fight, boxing responsibly. Despite an attempted late rally from Richards, “Braveheart” did more than enough across 12 rounds to secure the victory.

The fight began tentatively with both fighters attempting to establish their styles. Hutchinson, who was switching between the orthodox and southpaw stances, had success early on by occasionally rushing towards his opponent to land scoring punches. The Scotsman widened his lead as the rounds went on, consistently landing hooks and straights to the head.

Richards picked things up from round six onwards, trying to press forward and land his shots. However, Hutchinson’s movement made him difficult to hit. In round 10, both fighters emerged from their corners swinging hooks at each other. Richards was stunned towards the end of the tenth, but held on to make it out of the round.

Round 11 saw more swinging hooks from both men, but it was clear that they were exhausted. Richards, clearly behind, did what he could to get the knockout, but it was not enough. Hutchinson stuck to boxing from the outside in round 12, eventually winning a unanimous decision.