The stiffest test of Moses Itauma’s career lies ahead in the form of former heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on DAZN PPV.
First, though, there was solid undercard for fans to sink their teeth into. Raymond Ford vs. Abraham Nova and Mohammed Alakel vs. Yumnam Santosh Singh in a six-round lightweight bout were on the preliminary card.
In the co-main event, Nick Ball looked to make the third defense of his WBA featherweight title as he squared off against Sam Goodman in the lone title fight on the card.
Also on the bill, Filip Hrgovic came up against David Adeleye and Japanese junior lightweight contender Hayato Tsutsumi fought Qais Ashfaq in a 10-round bout before.
Results from Riyadh below…
Ford outpoints Nova over 10 rounds
Raymond Ford’s speed and skill were too much for a game Abraham Nova.
Ford (18-1-1, 8 KOs) steadily pulled away en route to a unanimous decision victory over Nova in their 10-round junior lightweight bout. The former WBA featherweight champion won 97-93 on judges Marco Moscadelli and Michel Maksiuta’s scorecards, while Enrico Licini had it 96-94.
Ford and Nova (24-4-1, 17 KOs) both had their moments in the beginning stages of the fight. Nova’s size and pressure helped him hold his own as he was able to find a home for some clean and effective power shots.
Ford found another gear in the fifth round, as he landed the more eye-popping shots and set the tone for the second half of the fight, though, Nova still had some success. The slick southpaw from Camden, New Jersey, outlanded Nova of the Dominican Republic 127 to 101 in total punches and 93 to 80 in power shots, per CompuBox.
Nova was a late replacement on just over one month’s notice for former IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs), who withdrew from the fight with a back injury.
Ball retains 126-pound title against Goodman Nick Ball retained his position as Great Britain’s only male world champion, keeping hold of his WBA featherweight title in an enthralling 12-round clash against Sam Goodman at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Liverpool’s Ball won unanimously with scorecards which read 117-111, 118-110, 115-113 on a card headlined by Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte live on DAZN PPV.
Ball will now look to unification fights at 126 pounds, but a potential clash with pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue also lingers.
“I’m still a world champ but it wasn’t the best performance of mine, the main thing is we got the job done,” Ball said in the ring afterwards. “I got hit too much, most of it was on the gloves but I’ll have to watch it back.
“I want to keep fighting and improving, being in with the big names in other title fights is the main thing.”
Goodman (20-1, 8 KOs) made a solid start to life at featherweight, landing a nice right hand on Ball (23-0-1, 13 KOs) in the opening seconds of the bout. But by the time the first round had finished, it was Ball who looked to be in the early ascendancy, landing numerous damaging right hooks and straight lefts.
Again the challenger looked comfortable enough for periods in the second round. The Aussie used his reach advantage to position himself well on the outside, landing jabs of his own. But Ball, who stands at just 5ft 2in, made things awkward and found home with right hands.
The third round saw Ball land, arguably, the best shot of the fight – a right hook to the temple. Goodman responded with a left to the body of his own and continued to use his length, trapping Ball into falling over his feet whenever he attacked with any kind of explosiveness. Goodman ended the round by connecting with a well-timed one-two.
Ball looked twitchy to begin the fourth. Naturally eager to land effective shots of his own, he came straight out of the traps, winging punches from all angles. While Goodman remained calm and collected, Ball got through with a couple of hard jabs for the first time in the fight. Goodman returned fire with another tidy one-two but Ball came back with a hard left of his own.
Ball enjoyed his best round of the fight in the fifth. The Liverpudlian landed a blistering combo to back Goodman up onto the ropes before doing the same in the middle of the ring moments later. Goodman returned to form, boxing from range and looking to stifle Ball’s attacks with neat footwork and the jab.
The sixth round began strongly for Ball again. Safe in the knowledge he’d have better success with combinations, Ball came out targeting both the head and the body. Goodman came back and connected with a meaty left to the body but Ball got through up top in return, landing a thunderous one-two against the challenger’s unguarded head.
Goodman used his back-foot ability to fend off much of Ball’s attacks in the seventh, landing to the body and head, but Ball would land a head-snapping left hand in the final minute of the round.
Ball’s aggression came to the forefront at the start of the eighth. The 28-year-old marauded forward, looking to catch his man off guard with shots from awkward angles, landing many of them. Goodman, unhurt by those shots, once again returned to his base to win the middle portion of the round with effective body punching and jabbing. The rounds were becoming closer and closer.
The ninth was a strong one for champion Ball, who landed three big uppercuts to put Goodman onto his back foot. The first was with his right and the second two came from Ball’s left. Goodman would attempt to get his own back by pushing Ball back himself, attempting to land the jabs and right hands he’d come accustomed to landing in the preceding rounds.
The trend of Ball starting his rounds well before coming under fire from Goodman continued in the 10th. Ball landed a big left uppercut-straight right in the opening minute but Goodman came back with a hefty right of his own. Ball, though, landed a brilliant right to the head before connecting to the body with his left straight after.
The contest ebbed and flowed once again in the 11th, but Ball looked like he was beginning to pull away by the time the 10th round finished. In the penultimate round, he landed yet more uppercuts and rights but Goodman continued to soak up the punishment and returned fire, something Ball opponents have struggled to do in recent years.
The 12th round saw both men go for broke. Goodman knew he needed to finish strong to have any chance on the cards while Ball wanted to rubber-stamp the solid work he’d done in the two previous rounds with something a little more spiteful. Both landed punches in bunches, to the head and body, and Ball’s right eye would begin to bleed as a result. But the pair would end the fight on their feet after an enthralling 36 minutes of action.
Ball would ultimately come up trumps with the unanimous decision win, however Goodman, who missed out on world title opportunities with Naoya Inoue at the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, stamped his authority as a handy player in the 126-pound division.
Compubox stats: Goodman connected on 47% of his power punches, but Ball landed 27 more power punches. The fighters were separated by 6 or fewer landed punches in 8 of the 12 rounds. Goodman finished with a 91-48 edge in body punches landed. Ball out-landed Goodman 134-123 over the second half of the fight.
Hrgovic drops, decisions brave Adeleye
Filip Hrgovic overcame early adversity to earn one of the best wins of his career, dropping David Adeleye once en route to a unanimous decision victory to retain his secondary WBO heavyweight title.
Hrgovic (19-1, 14 KOs) won 98-91 on judge Marco Moscadelli’s scorecard and 99-90 on Enrico Licini and Leszek Jankowiak’s scorecards. Hrgovic was ranked No. 2 by the WBO, No. 5 by the WBA, No. 6 by the WBC and No. 12 by the IBF heading into the high-stakes heavyweight clash.
Hrgovic was largely in control of the fight and broke through in the first minute of the eighth round when he landed a chopping straight right hand that sent Adeleye to the canvas.
The knockdown heightened the urgency for Adeleye and he came storming back and landed a series of blows that temporarily turned the tide in his favor in the latter stages of the eighth round. That proved to be Adeleye’s last wind, though, as Hrgovic retook control in the final moments of one of the better rounds this year and coasted to the final bell.
Hrgovic’s pressure and volume paved the way to victory. The Croatian heavyweight consistently put Adeleye (14-2, 13 KOs) on the ropes and connected with power shots consistently. Adeleye had success when he let his hands go, but those moments were few and far between for the British Heavyweight throughout the 10-round bout.
The fight appeared to be on the doorstep of being stopped midway through the second round when Hrgovic got a nasty cut right on his right eyelid from a stabbing jab by Adeleye. Hrgovic was checked by the ringside doctor at the start of the third round, but was allowed to continue.
The cut wasn’t checked for the rest of the fight by the ringside doctor, as Hrgovic’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, was able to keep it under control between rounds.
Hrgovic has now won two straight fights since his stoppage loss to former heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in June 2024.
Hrgovic outlanded Adelaye 228 to 92 in total punches and 169 to 47 in power shots, per CompuBox.
Tsutsumi batters, halts overmatched Ashfaq
Hayato Tsutsumi dropped Qais Ashfaq three times en route to a third-round stoppage victory.
Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs), who is ranked No. 3 by the WBO and No. 10 by the IBF at junior lightweight, dropped Ashfaq the first time in the waning moments of the second round with a left hook to the body that knocked him off balance and sent him to the canvas.
Tsutsumi stayed on the attack in the third round, dropping Ashfaq (13-4-1, 5 KOs) twice with a left hook. After the second knockdown of the round, the Japanese contender landed another barrage of punches that forced referee Leszek Jankowiak to stop the fight.
Tsutsumi connected with a staggering 61 percent of his power punches, per CompuBox. He has won his last five fights by knockout or stoppage.
Alakel registers first KO
For the first time in Alakel’s career, he’s won a fight inside the distance. Alakel (5-0, 1 KO) dropped Singh (3-6, 1 KO) late in the first round and he was unable to beat the count. Singh was in control as he was the aggressor behind a stiff jab and solid body work.
In the final minute, Alakel, 21, landed a looping right hook that clipped Singh on the side of his head as he was leaning into range and he crumbled to the canvas. Referee Andrei Cheveliov reached the count of 10 with 34 seconds left while Singh, 30, tried to protest that the punch landed on the back of his head.
Alakel outlanded Singh 13-2, per CompuBox.