Nick Ball believes the CrossFit at the heart of his training schedule has paved the way for his undefeated run to the world featherweight title.
The 28-year-old, who is The Ring’s No. 3 126lber, is WBA champion and makes the third defence of his belt to the division’s newcomer Sam Goodman.
The pair, neither of whom have lost a professional fight, will meet as part of the Esports World Cup event headlined by Moses Itauma against Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Aug. 16. The entire show will be available via DAZN pay-per-view.

It will be Ball’s third outing in the Saudi capital after coming desperately close to unseating then-WBC champion Rey Vargas on his first visit in March 2024. That night, the judges returned a split draw, but Ball would not be denied just three months later when he returned to Kingdom Arena.

On June 1, 2024, Ball earned a hard-fought split-decision victory over Ray Ford to win the belt and he has since successfully defended it twice in Liverpool.

The “Wrecking” Ball has emerged as one of the most physically fit fighters on the circuit, and is now Britain’s only male world champion. He has had little trouble going the distance in high-action fights with Vargas and Ford while he proved that he carries power late when he stopped Ludumo Lamati (12th), Ronny Rios and TJ Doheny (both 10th) in the championship rounds.

And now he has explained how CrossFit, the hugely popular training methodology which first launched around the turn of the century, has helped bulletproof him to the rigours of boxing.

“My style of training, what we do at Peak Performance with my strength and conditioning coach Tom Christie, it’s a CrossFit gym,” Ball says.

“It’s all fight specific and it’s all programmed in a way for fighting and more. The way he does it, it’s unbelievable to be honest. We do CrossFit competitions and you can see all the flags up in the gym, I don’t think there are many other gyms with that many podiums. It’s crazy.

“That type of training works the best for me. Everyone’s got different things that they like doing. This and that, what works for them, that is perfect for me. I’ll continue to do that in and out of camp.

“It’s a lifestyle, isn’t it? It’s all year round. It’s not just for the camp for 6-8 weeks, 12 weeks. It’s all year round and being a professional and putting the work in. It helps you massively. It’s preparation leading up to the next one because it’s never over.”

CrossFit and other types of varied, functional strength training has become more and more prevalent in boxing over the past two decades. Three-weight world champion Robert Guerrero, for instance, was a huge advocate for CrossFit in particular.

But for Ball, his training simply boils down to simple hard work.

“I got into boxing when I was six so I’ve always given everything 100 percent,” he adds. “But as time goes on, there’s no other option but to give your all and put all the hard work in because I know it pays off. I’m proof of that. I don’t know whether I’ve been forced to enjoy it by pushing myself that much or whether that’s just in me.

“I think it’s just in me. Anything I do I give 100 per cent and more so that’s just the type of person I am. I’ve got a massive work ethic so I think that’s just in me.”