Nick Ball is primed for his first title defense.

The squat WBA featherweight beltholder was on weight, as was challenger Ronny Rios for their scheduled 12-round bout.

Ball (20-0-1, 11 knockouts) checked in at a stacked 125.1 pounds for the event. Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) weighed 125.6 pounds ahead of his third career title bid.

Their bout will air live on TNT Sports in the UK and ESPN+ in the U.S. from M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.

Ball claimed the belt in a thrilling 12-round win over unbeaten Raymond Ford on June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout came just three months after most considered Ball unlucky to settle for a draw in the same venue versus WBC titlist Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs).

There was a brief moment before Ball had to hear the words “… and the new.” Ford won 115-113 on one card, overruled by the same scores for Ball with the other two judges. Their Fight of the Year candidate was that competitive but saw the title head to the UK in the end.

Ball now gets a well-deserved homecoming for the occasion. The bout is his first in Liverpool since Feb. 2020.

Rios, 34, travels abroad for what is viewed as his likely final shot at a major title.

The Santa Ana, California native came up short in an Aug. 2017 bid versus Vargas, the unbeaten WBC 122-pound titlist at the time. A sixth-round knockout loss to Azat Hovhannisyan less than eight months later threatened to leave him on the outside looking in at junior featherweight.

Rios rebounded with four straight wins to become the WBA mandatory. His twice-delayed shot versus then unbeaten WBA/IBF 122-pound Murodjon Akhmadaliev finally came through in June 2022. Rios was stopped in the 12th and final round.

Nearly two years passed before Rios returned to the ring and the win column. He defeated Nicolas Polanco (21-5-1 at the time) on April 24 at Probox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

ESPN+/TNT Sports Undercard 1 (7:00 p.m. GMT/2:00 p.m. ET)

Henry Turner (13-0, 5 KOs), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, 139.7 pounds
Jack Rafferty (23-0, 14 KOs), Manchester, Lancashire, UK, 139.7 pounds
12 rounds, lightweight

Andrew Cain (12-1, 11 KOs), Liverpool, 117.1 pounds
Lazaro Casseres (11-1, 4 KOs), Mahates, Colombia, 116.1 pounds
10 rounds, bantamweight

Jadier Herrera (15-0, 13 KOs), Dubai via Camaguey, Cuba, 134 pounds
Oliver Flores (31-5, 20 KOs), Leon, Nicaragua, 134.6 pounds
10 rounds, lightweight

Jack Turner (8-0, 7 KOs), Liverpool, 120.1 pounds
Gonzalo Corinaldesi (5-6-1, 1 KO) Alta Gracia, Argentina, 118.1 pounds
6 rounds, bantamweight

Preliminary undercard

Nelson Birchall (5-0, 2 KOs), Morecambe, Lancashire, 130 ½ pounds
Mark Butler (3-12, 1 KO), Brighton, Sussex, UK, 129.9 pounds
6 rounds, junior lightweight

Lucas Biswana (pro debut), Liverpool, 145.1 pounds
Jakub Laskowski (4-31-1, 2 KOs), Siemianowice Slaskie, Poland, 144.1 pounds
4 rounds, welterweight

James McGivern (9-0, 3 KOs), Belfast, Northern Ireland, 135.1 pounds
Requen Facundo Arce (17-16-2, 7 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 135.4 pounds
8 rounds, lightweight

Joe Cooper (1-0, 0 KOs), Essex, UK, 159.1 pounds
Lukasz Barabasz (4-13, 2 KOs), Mikolow, Poland, 159.1 pounds
4 rounds, middleweight

Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KOs), Liverpool, 122 ½ pounds
Marvin Solano (24-19 KOs), Cordoba, Spain via Managua, Nicaragua, 125.7 pounds
4 rounds, junior featherweight

Walter Fury (1-0, 0 KOs), Lancaster, Lancashire 156.1 pounds
Dale Arrowsmith (6-114-5, 1 KO) Hyde, Lancashire 155.1 pounds
4 rounds, junior middleweight

Follow @JakeNDaBox

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES.