Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman: Five things we learned from champion’s gutsy win

Nick Ball and Sam Goodman arguably put on the fight of the night this past weekend on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte in Riyadh.

The fight went all 12 gruelling rounds with both men putting on gritty and determined performances. Nick Ball claimed the unanimous decision and defended his WBA featherweight title, but it was by no means a fight that lacked competition and revealed some interesting talking points going forward for the pair.

Here are five things we learned from Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman.

Goodman proved he is an elite-level fighter

The scorecards did not reflect how competitive Goodman was throughout this fight.

He managed Ball’s relentless pressure by always making sure he had enough space behind him to retreat a step or two before pivoting away at an angle.

This is where Ball does his best work, when he is able to make his opponent retreat to the ropes or a corner. Goodman did an outstanding job of managing to hold his ground well enough up close to allow him to retreat after throwing his shots and away from the explosive power of Ball.

Goodman also showed impressive head movement to make Ball miss with his approaching shots and counter upstairs before dropping down with lashing body hooks.

The Aussie did not get the better of the exchanges on the inside but was able to absorb the best that the Liverpudlian had to throw at him and respond with spiteful shots of his own.

All these things are standout reasons as to why Goodman is a world-level fighter and would be able to compete with or get the better of any of the other top featherweight fighters.

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Ball is one of the best inside fighters in the world

While Goodman did a good job of not spending 12 rounds on the back foot – standing and exchanging with Ball was perhaps where Goodman got it wrong because the WBA champion has a relentless work rate and ability to punch at unorthodox angles.

The key to his success on the inside was his ability to throw a massive variety of punches with both hands. When the two locked horns, Ball would almost always be the first to throw – favouring a flurry of left uppercuts and right hands usually in threes or fours.

He also found a lot of success with the right uppercut, unusual for a man of his stature. When Goodman got too close, he would coil himself and unleash a sharp uppercut that rarely missed the target, providing an eye-catching shot for the judges to punctuate the exchanges.

Then just as Goodman thought he had deciphered the pattern, Ball would detonate a heavy overhand right to break his rhythm – a telltale sign of an elite-level operator.

Ball is vulnerable on the back foot

Ball is a devastating and unrelenting fighter on the front foot, when he can explode into range and unload combinations. But the few times we saw him become stuck were when he found himself under pressure and forced backwards.

He looked uncomfortable and unable to set himself to return fire if he was taking a backwards step, simply retreating in a straight line with a high guard, which opened up opportunities for Goodman to exploit.

In the ninth round, Goodman pushed Ball back with three unanswered shots, and Ball then took a step backwards with his lead leg, which left him completely square with his back to the ropes, trying to counter.

But this left a vulnerable target which Goodman capitalised on, landing one of his best shots of the night, a straight right hand that stunned Ball.

Nick Ball’s counter punching is underrated

Everyone sees Ball as this unstoppable force of nature that runs through his opponents with no regard for what they have in return.

But there is so much more nuance to Ball’s game than that – especially on the counterattack.

Due to being an undersized featherweight at 5’2”, Ball knows that he needs to either be in his range or outside of his opponent’s.

But to stay close means to be in constant danger of attack. To offset this, Ball employs a basic defensive strategy that allows him to absorb or avoid punishment and counterattack immediately.

Ball would stand in range with a high guard, drawing Goodman in for the attack. When Goodman would strike, Ball would hold his feet and catch the shots on his gloves and respond by exploding back with heavy hooks and uppercuts when the Aussie was trying to reset.

This is not the flashy counterpunching we see in the modern game with exaggerated head and body movements; it’s a effective, classic catch and shoot and is the perfect weapon for the arsenal of a fighter like Ball, who uses it to the very highest level.

Goodman reveals the blueprint?

Although Goodman did not have enough to topple the WBA champion on the night, there were flashes of brilliance that we saw cause Ball some problems that a man like Naoya Inoue, who Ball is rumoured to potentially face, will be looking to exploit.

If Ball can be pushed onto his back foot and even to the ropes, he looks more susceptible to being caught out defensively. This is because Ball has nowhere to retreat, and a taller opponent can happily fire away at Ball from range, and he will struggle to counter.

Goodman also used his footwork to drop out of range and make Ball fall short before countering. We saw this happen when Goodman drew Ball in to coming over his front foot and missing with an overhand right, which left him off balance.

If Goodman was able to capitalise on this and launch a counterattack, then he could have found more success.

That being said, many have tried and failed to put Ball on his back foot – as to push him back – they have to come forward with serious firepower. Ball does not have a reverse gear and will happily exchange on the inside, where he excels.

But a man like Inoue could have the firepower to force Ball into a more cautious approach, which he cannot afford to take.

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