Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny: Relentless Pressure Ends With Corner Stoppage

Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny headlined the Queensberry Promotions card on March 15 at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool. The entire event was shown on TNT Sports and Discovery+ for those in the UK, while DAZN showed it globally in select countries. The main event saw a relentless performance from Ball, as he ground down his opponent to retain his WBA featherweight championship.

Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny Retains His Title Through An Impressive Stoppage

Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny Fight Recap

The opening round saw both fighters size each other up, with Ball (21-0-1, 13 KOs) looking to close the gap and get inside. Doheny had his moments during the opener and picked his shots well. The Irishman held Ball after the bell, which prompted the Liverpudlian to kick out at Doheny. There was no love lost between these two.

The third round saw a noticeable tempo increase from Ball as he closed the distance well on Doheny (26-6, 20 KOs) and had success, including a left hook right on the bell which caught the Irishman. Doheny had his moments, but that was a strong third round from the Liverpudlian.

The fifth round was a quiet one, with both fighters having their moments, with the pressure from Ball being the narrow difference. The wide southpaw stance from the Irish fighter made it difficult in the early rounds, but the pressure from Ball began to take over.

The sixth round was a good one for the champion as he hurt Doheny with a left-right combination that stiffened the legs of the challenger, who looked to be feeling the pace at the halfway mark.

The eighth round once again saw the challenger have his moments, but the pressure and combination punching from Ball – made sure he took the round again and continued his dominance.

The ninth round saw the champion deduct a point for punching on the break, but he upped the pace again, making his attacks relentless, landing some nice-looking combinations.

At the end of the tenth round, the corner of Doheny decided to pull their man out and save him from further punishment, Nick Ball is a problem for any champion in the featherweight division, delivering another impressive performance.

Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny Undercard

In the evening’s float fight, Jack Power (5-0, 1 KO) defeated Jose Aguirre (2-11, 1 KO) in a super middleweight fight. Power scored knockdowns in rounds three and five, with well-placed shots on both occasions. The tough Costa Rican made it to the final bell, with referee John Latham scoring the contest 60-52.

Jack Turner (11-0, 10 KOs) once again showcased his impressive power as he blew away the normally durable Ryan Farrag (23-6, 6 KOs) in just two rounds to win the vacant WBA international super flyweight.

Andrew Cain (14-1, 12 KOs) vs Charlie Edwards (20-2, 7 KOs) was a difficult fight to watch and score, with Cain looking to force the pressure with Edwards moving, looking to frustrate the Liverpudlian. Edwards seemed to grow in confidence as the fight went on and it went to the judge’s scorecards. They read 115-114 for Cain, 115-113 for Edwards and 116-112 for the man from Merseyside, meaning he retained his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles

Jadier Herrera (17-0, 15 KOs) navigated through some difficult moments to defeat Jose Macias Enriquez (21-4-2, 8 KOs) by 7th round TKO to retain his WBA Intercontinental Lightweight championship. The Cuban showed his undeniable abilities, but he was caught too many times by his durable opponent.

Ionut Baluta (17-5-1, 3 KOs) scored an upset victory against Brad Strand (12-2, 4 KOs) to win the vacant WBO European super bantamweight title. Despite the referee scoring a knockdown incorrectly in favour of Baluta, the Merseyside fighter picked his shots well and avoided many attacks from his opponent. It was difficult to see anything other than a Strand win and one judge had it 97-93 for Strand while the other two inexplicably scored it 98-91 and 96-94 for the Romanian fighter. The judges got that very wrong.

Despite suffering a cut near his right eye, Stephen Clarke (6-0, 1 KO) dominated his middleweight fight against Dmitri Protkunas (8-18-1, 1 KO), with referee Steve Gray scoring it 60-54.

Nick Ball vs TJ Doheny: YouTube Fights

Leighton Birchall (1-0, 1 KO) showcased why he was a standout amateur, dropping Laszlo Bernath (1-2, 1 KO) twice in their super bantamweight bout before the referee, John Latham stopped the fight in round two. An impressive debut from Birchall.

In the welterweight division, Lucas Biswana (2-0, 0 KOs) boxed diligently throughout, showing good variation and power, scoring a second-round knockdown on his way to a 40-36 win.

William Birchall (1-0, 1 KO) shone on his debut in the featherweight division, showcasing his slick skills and impressive power, defeating Engel Gomez (8-44-3, 4 KOs) by TKO in the second round.

In the super welterweight division, Lewis Lawton (1-0, 1 KO) scored an impressive debut win, stopping the durable Artjom Spatar (4-13-1, 1 KO) in the first round.

Joe Bourne (0-0-1, 0 KOs) vs. Cristian Uwaka (1-5-1, 1 KO) was the opening fight of the night. It was a competitive bout, with referee John Latham scoring the heavyweight contest a draw at 38-38.