Ball disappointed with performance, but retains 126 title vs. Goodman
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Nick Ball was disappointed in his performance but he did enough to outpoint Sam Goodman by unanimous decision to retain the WBA featherweight title on Saturday at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
England’s Ball, who retained his position as boxing’s only male world titleholder from the United Kingdom, won 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113 in his third defense. Fight Freaks Unite had Ball winning 116-112 in the co-feature of the Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte heavyweight fight on DAZN PPV.
“I’m obviously still a world champ but it wasn’t the best performance of mine. Honest opinion,” Ball said. “The main thing is I got the job done and still champion. Got hit too much. (But it was) fan-friendly. That’s what it’s all about.”
Goodman had been a junior featherweight mandatory challenger in two organizations and was set to challenge undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue before twice suffering cuts in training, causing the fight in December to be postponed and then in January to be canceled.
Once the cuts healed, he moved up in weight, won a tune-up fight in May and got the shot at Ball, who he gave a tough fight to despite the two wide scorecards.
