Nick Ball lands second world title shot as Peter McGrail opponent change confirmed

Nick Ball will take on Rey Ford as part of the five-versus-five card promotion on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.

The Matchroom v Queensberry showdown will form the undercard to the undisputed light-heavyweight contest between undefeated Russian Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, a blockbuster for boxing purists. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has selected Deontay Wilder (43-3-1) as his captain ahead of his fight against Zhang (26-2-1), while Queensberry's Frank Warren has selected Hamzah Sheeraz as his captain.

Ball was unable to win the WBC belt after being unfortunate in a controversial draw with Rey Vargas in March, but will be hoping to become a world champion at the second time of asking. The 27-year-old Scouser dropped Vargas twice and took charge in the second half of the fight, but it wasn’t enough to get the nod on the judges’ scorecards.

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One judge scored it 116-119 to Ball, another had it 114-112 to Vargas, but a third scored the bout 113-113, meaning the fight ended in a split-decision draw. Ford, on the other hand, captured the WBA featherweight world title with a dramatic, come-from-behind 12th-round TKO win against Otabek Kholmatov in New York last month.

Trailing on two of three scorecards, Ford dug deep to secure his first world title in the final round, as Kholmatov was ahead with two scores of 106-103, while one judge had it 105-104 for the native of Camden, New Jersey.

Asked about the fight, Ball said: “I’m always confident. It’s another massive opportunity for me. I’m looking forward to the fight.”

Meanwhile, Peter