Knockout Chaos Looming

By Frank Warren

WE ARE NOW fast closing in on some more razzmatazz in Riyadh with the fighters now in place and ready to put on a show on Friday March 8 at the Kingdom Arena.

I will turn my attention to the big heavyweight attractions at the top of the card in next week’s column but, for now, I would like to focus on two fights where the pride of Queensberry get to perform on what is now probably the biggest stage in world boxing.

First up, our quiet yet ferocious featherweight Nick Ball fights for the WBC world title against the Mexican two-weight world champ Rey Vargas.

Liverpool lad Nick has enjoyed a meteoric rise since that night at Wembley Stadium in April 2022 when he confidently strode out to the ring and effectively demolished the more experienced Isaac Lowe to win the WBC Silver belt.

I first saw up close what he is all about when he featured on one of our charity dinner shows in 2019 - stopping his opponent in two rounds - and I could tell then that this stocky little puncher definitely had something about him.

After showcasing himself on Tyson Fury’s undercard at the National stadium in front of a large chunk of the ultimate 94,000 that attended, Nick has climbed up the rankings by defeating four quality opponents in defence of his WBC title.

Three of the fights entered the 12th round and in two of them he recorded a stoppage, which shows that he carries his power throughout a championship fight. The other was the final eliminator against former world champion Isaac Dogboe late last year and, in all honesty, he simply overwhelmed the Ghanaian and took the decision by a comfortable margin.

This victory placed him in pole position for a shot at Vargas but, as ever in boxing, it is never quite as straightforward as it seems. The WBC has an Interim champion in Brandon Figueroa, so we had to work long and hard to wriggle Nick into place for a straight shot at the full champion.

The fact the fight is part of the Riyadh Season sporting festivities no doubt helped us along in securing this fight and I firmly believe that Nick will seize his moment and make all our efforts worthwhile.

Make no mistake, Vargas is a quality champion who only got beaten when he stepped up to super feather in his last fight, but I have such confidence in Nick and his abilities that I would happily put him up against anyone at the weight.

It will be a truly special night for us all if Nick can do the business, take ownership of the green belt and signal the beginning of a glorious reign for himself as world champion.

When we were last over in Riyadh for the Day of Reckoning production, the midnight oil - and then some - was burned night after night in extensive planning meetings over future fights and shows in the company of HE Turki Alalshikh.

Such was the level and status of the fights and fighters under discussion, I must admit I did not click on straight away when HE stated simply that he wanted ‘Chamberlain’ on the March card.

Truthfully, I didn’t realise who he was on about. Eddie Hearn was in the same meeting and he was none the wiser. Then the penny dropped and I finally twigged that it was a fighter I manage in Mark Chamberlain.

HE studies all our fights and shows and has clearly taken a liking to Mark, so I got him on the phone and HE explained that he wanted him to fight in Saudi. Needless to say, Mark didn’t take any persuading!

Mark is in a great fight against another of our fighters in Gavin Gwynne and we will really see if he has got what it takes to progress to the top. I believe in him and always have done, but seeing is truly believing.

He is up against a quality champion in Gavin, who recently became European champion and previously held the British now held by Sam Noakes.

This is an amazing opportunity for both fighters and I’ve got a little hunch that this one will creep into fight of the night territory.