A Tall Order - Ball vs Figueroa set For Liverpool

The WBA world featherweight champion Nick Ball will make a fourth defence of his title when he takes on the American mandatory challenger Brandon Figueroa on Saturday February 7 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.

Since his triumph in seizing the WBA belt from Raymond Ford in June 2024 in Riyadh, the 28-year-old Ball has registered successful defences against Ronny Rios, TJ Doheny and, most recently, Sam Goodman, to retain his unbeaten (23-0-1, 13 KOs) status as champion.

The event on February 7, live and exclusive on DAZN, will see him in world title action for a third time in his home city of Liverpool.

Figueroa, 28 and known as ‘The Heartbreaker’, hails from Weslaco in Texas and holds a professional record of 26-2-1 (19 KOs).

Figueroa already olds the distinction of being a former two-weight world champion, with him winning the WBA world super bantamweight title with victory over Damien Vazquez in 2020, then adding the WBC championship to his title tally with a stoppage of Luis Nery the following year.

He lost his belts via a majority decision to Stephen Fulton before moving up to featherweight and becoming WBC Interim world champion with a decision verdict over Mark Magsayo in 2023. A second points defeat to Fulton came in February, but Figueroa returned to the win column with victory over Joet Gonzalez in July.

“This is a great fight for Liverpool and an extension of our blockbuster beginning to 2026,” said promoter Frank Warren.

“We are so proud of Nick and what he has accomplished and this is a glamour fight, against a recognised American talent, that he fully deserves to have in his home city.

“Figueroa represents a genuine threat, but we believe Nick has the beating of everyone in the division and he will prove this over time.

“Boxing is booming in Liverpool again and we are thrilled to be at the spearhead of this with Nick as the driving force. He delivers a perfect platform for all our other local contenders to showcase themselves on world title cards.”