Kirby, Liverpool’s Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight (9st/126 lbs) title against Ireland’s T J Doheny in his home city tonight.
Billed appropriately ‘A Hard Days Night’ in tribute to The Beatles, it’s not expected at face value to be that, but, a further opportunity to showcase ‘The Wrecking Ball’s’ skills and legitimacy to fight current Pound-for-Pound elect and elite multi-weight champion Naoya Inoue.
Shown live in the UK on TNT Sports it pits a 28 year old champion against a 38 year old challenger.
Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) has been excellent to date and despite dropping a disputable draw to Rey Vargas he bounced back to win his ‘world’ title. This is the one Barry McGuigan famously held in the mid-1980’s defeating Eusebio Pedroza.
Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs), based in Australia, and a former IBF 122lbs champion, was stopped last September in seven rounds by Inoue in Japan, and this fight will provide a good yardstick as to Ball’s potential to secure a lucrative fight with the Japanese.
There was controversy at yesterday’s weigh-in with Doheny tipping the scales at 4 ounces over, which he promptly shed to save the fight and event. There was a tasty exchange with Ball not taking too kindly to this indiscretion.
It promises to be an excellent clash with both fighters come-forward and skillful having fought at world level, but expect Ball to come though with ‘flying colours’ with age and ambition likely being the defining factors.
The main event is ably supported by local favourite Andrew Cain against former WBC champion Charlie Edwards in a very competitive fight at bantamweight world level.
Expect fireworks in both main fights.
The Undisputed 