LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Nick Ball thought that he was going to be disqualified for kicking out at TJ Doheny during his victory over the Irishman on Saturday evening.
Ball made the second defense of his WBA featherweight title at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, when stopping the experienced Doheny in 10 rounds. Their contest encouraged a sense of controversy after the first round. They came together at the sound of the bell to end the first and Doheny put the shorter Ball into a headlock. Ball then angrily responded by forcing his head free and kicking Doheny in the back of the leg.
Doheny hit the canvas and seemed to exaggerate the effect of the incident, but the referee Michael Alexander was dismissive of his antics. He waved the Irishman to his feet, and Ball nervously waited to see how Alexander would responsd.
Fortunately for Ball, Alexander decided to let him off with a warning, but he admitted afterwards that he feared he was going to be disqualified.
“I thought it was going to be [the end], to be honest,” the 28 year old told BoxingScene. “But the ref was quite strict, wasn’t he? He took a point off for the holding. So he could have taken a point off or even disqualified me for that. So thanks to him for not.”
The retaliation to Doheny’s headlock was something that has been engraved in Ball since an early age. He simply will not sit back and be bullied.
“That’s what we were taught as kids,” Ball said. “If someone does something to you, get them back. Do it back to them, innit?”
Ball, usually a calm, collected fighter, was more emotional than usual during fight week. Doheny, 38, had got under his skin, and Ball recognises that he let that show in the ring.
“I wanted to take him out,” he said. “You know, because I like to think I’m quite respectful – a respectful person, with this boxing. You’ve got to respect people you get in the ring with, and I’ll always be respectful in the build-ups – the press conferences – as you know, and with everyone. And he weren’t, really.
“I didn’t really say nothing to him in the build-up for him not to be. And straight away, he weren’t respectful to me, and I’m the world champ. So it’s a bit cheeky. So yeah, maybe it did show that I was wanting to get at him.”