Paul Stevenson has been head coach at Everton’s Red Triangle gym for many years and has overseen a collection of quality fighters and respected champions. Finally, one of his fighters brought the world title belt back to Liverpool’s famous old gym.
The new WBA featherweight champion, Nick Ball, is truly one of Stevenson’s fighters. The two have been together since the start of Ball’s career and have progressed from boxing in nightclubs and recreation centers to taking on the world’s best fighters on the grandest stages.
Last Saturday’s title win over Raymond Ford was made all the sweeter after the pair nearly reached the top of the mountain back in March. Ball appeared to overwhelm and bully Rey Vargas during their WBC title fight and for a few moments after the final bell rang, Stevenson thought he had his first world championship. The split draw verdict given by the judges quickly extinguished his and Ball’s excitement.
True to their ways, the businesslike couple stopped complaining publicly about the decision as soon as their flight landed back in England and quietly got on with the task of preparing the Ford.
Although he proved himself at world level against the awkward Vargas, Ball produced a better performance against the slick but tough Ford and was rewarded with a split decision win and the WBA featherweight title.
Stevenson and the team had to endure a tense wait while the judges’ scorecards were tallied, but he wasn’t worried about another controversy. The relief he felt when Ball’s arm rose was a reaction to years of hard work paying off.
“It’s a long road for any coach or team to get their first world champion, especially when we were denied the first time,” he told BoxingScene.
“I don’t think the score was as close as they said on television. The comments on DAZN were very, very similar. Honestly, at ringside, I’m pretty confident that we did more than enough. You obviously still want to hear it confirmed and I’m probably feeling it all. A bit of relief, yes, but also pride in the fighter that he finally got what he deserved and it was a brilliant, special moment that I will probably remember for the rest of my life.”
Ball and Stevenson are not the type to tread water. Having come this far, they were determined to keep going. A rematch with WBC champion Vargas would be interesting for a number of reasons. Unifying the division would not only cement Ball’s position as the top man at 126 pounds but would also give the 27-year-old another chance to achieve his long-held dream and win the famous green and gold WBC belt.
Given the referee allowed him to work well inside, he and Stevenson will also take great satisfaction in doing the job right and beating Vargas convincingly a second time.
Looking ahead, Stevenson has started to make other plans. He believes that Ball’s current form makes him a natural opponent for one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport.
“The fight I really like for Nick is the Naoya Inoue fight,” said Stevenson.
“This is the biggest fight out there in terms of where we want to be with Nick.
“Look at what he’s done in the last 12 weeks and even in the Isaac Dogboe fight. He has truly reached the top of the Featherweight division. He’s fought two world champions – two of the best champions, too – within 12 weeks of each other and he’s absolutely battered them both. You haven’t seen anything like that since the days of Henry Armstrong. What kind of fighter does that nowadays? He will join the best athletes in his division and give it to the champion. Especially in British boxing, there’s nobody in England doing that.
“Nick faced the man universally recognized as the best [featherweight] champion in Vargas. Previously there was Dogboe, former world champion and world number two. Now this guy. New guy. I know the bookies consider him an underdog, but he has done a brilliant job. I think he is one of the rising stars in the game.”
Inoue’s incredible run through the heavyweight division looks set to come to a halt at least once again. If – and when – the undisputed super bantamweight champion finally moves up to featherweight, Ball will likely be the one waiting to greet him at 126 pounds.
Although the versatile Ball and the surgical Inoue go about their business differently when they step into the ring, Stevenson believes they share the same spirit in how they seek out the toughest challenges available and then attack them head-on. He didn’t believe the two would adjust their approaches if they were matched against each other.
“It would be an amazing fight. Style-wise, it’s just going to be a blast,” he said.
“In my opinion, Nick has a big chance of being the one to trouble Inoue. We believe in him. This would be brilliant for the future.
“Inoue is the best in boxing right now, him and Nick. Of course, we want to get to where we are now, but they have a similar approach. He’s no nonsense. He just went in there, took the best ones and sent them off. This will be a meeting of the minds between him and Nick. That would be great.”
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