There is a high likelihood that the WBA Featherweight title fight between Nick Ball and Brandon Figueroa will be a contender for 2026 Fight of The Year. It isn't guaranteed, but it has the necessary ingredients of style and shared self-belief to propose a high-octane war is in prospect.
It is the nature of Nick Ball's stout build, he stretches to 5ft 2 when a tape measure is produced, that he fights the way he does and why he generates excitement in fight fans. He is short for the Featherweight division. This isn't news of course. At almost 29, Ball will answer the bell for the 25th time on Saturday night at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. Home turf. This is the peak. Few fighters for whom high-output and high pressure are primary to their success, continue to dominate into their 30s.
Ball's WBA title is on the line against the always entertaining American, Brandon Figueroa. Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions host the event and there are few more worldly matchmakers than the wise old owl of British boxing, but, nevertheless, there is jeopardy in this fixture, despite Figueroa having battled with success at Super-Bantamweight before moving to 126 pounds in 2022.
The two men are evenly matched despite the disparity in height and reach, Figueroa is 5ft 9 and will boast a reach advantage of around 7 inches. Which at elite level boxing, where margins between landing and missing are frequently measured in fractions of those inches, represents a canyon for Ball to cross. However, such is the appetite for battle the American possesses it is unlikely to be a defining factor. Figueroa, 26-2-1 (19ko), likes to exchange, steps inside, into the pocket perpetually and rarely leaves without risking combinations and a trade of punches. The pair are similar age, have boxed a similar number of rounds as prizefighters and arrive in good form and with confidence. There is an equality in profile.
Figueroa has a high work-rate, switches stance, occasionally squaring up when in the ascendancy to hook from both sides, but loves the left hand to the body. It is a telling punch. There appears to be variation in power to preserve surprise in some shots but he is punching to damage not just to score most of the time. It is a style which belies his 'Heartbreaker' nickname and delicate features. He frequently sacrifices the advantages of height and reach he should enjoy, but it is a willingness to trade that will endear him to the Liverpudlian crowd.
Ball, 23-0-1 (13ko), is much more than the swarming pressure fighter highlight reels propose. He is capable of staying at mid range, behind a peek-a-boo guard, before launching fast jabs and quick combinations. He can counter sharply, employs the left uppercut to good effect, defying his shorter arms and feints well to disguise attacks too. But if he does force Figueroa to cede ground he will not relent. Whether he can stay with the American's speed and instinctive combination work remains to be seen. This is a test.
The style the challenger will present could be perfect for Ball, or he may find his own fire is met with someone slightly quicker. Figueroa beat the then unbeaten Luis Nery, KO7, in 2021 albeit in the weight class below, it was an even fight until the 7th - a credible win. He followed that by a Points defeat to Stephen Fulton in a unification. He moved up to Feather in the aftermath. Recording the second of his two defeats this time last year losing over the distance again to Fulton for the WBC belt.
He has pedigree and appears to be motivated and here in the UK to win.
If either man can force the other to retreat, which will be tough, both relish the brawl after all, that could be the key to victory. Of the two, Figueroa may have the better tools to fight on the back foot if he is forced too. It will take accuracy and an incredible engine to fulfil that objective. Ball's ability to maintain that output is well documented, his stoppages - at Championship level - tend to come in the last round or so. Despite his underestimated craft, it can safely be assumed Ball will want to be the physical boss, be coming forward and inviting the American to meet him on the inside.
It will be thrilling to watch Ball try and be the first to stop Figueroa.
Ball to squeak home over the distance is the Roundtable pick, in what may prove to be the first sign of diminishing returns for the boxing 'piranha' with the Popeye arms.