Where does Nick Ball rank among Liverpool’s world champions?

Nick Ball is preparing to make the third defence of his WBA featherweight title against Sam Goodman on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte.

Ball is a proud Liverpudlian and is one of many great fighters to emerge from the city.

But where does Ball rank among the other world champions throughout history who are from Liverpool?

6. Liam Smith, 33-5-1 (20)

Liam Smith, 1/4 of the famous fighting quartet of Smith Brothers, reigned as the WBO super welterweight champion between 2015 and 2016.

He beat Apollo Thompson for the vacant title in 2015 with an impressive stoppage win at the Manchester Arena. ‘Beefy’ defended his strap twice before running into a seemingly unstoppable Canelo Alvarez, who knocked him out with a body shot in the ninth round.

Smith was an incredibly entertaining fighter on his day with marquee wins over Chris Eubank Jr, Jesse Vargas and Liam Williams – but as a world champion, his reign was short and sweet, which is why he takes number six on this list.

5. Tony Bellew, 30-3-1 (20)

Tony Bellew became an icon of British boxing after his intense rivalry with David Haye, which produced two classic fights and two knockouts for Bellew.

But before his foray into the heavyweight division, Bellew began his career at light-heavyweight where he climbed the rankings and had two shots at world title glory.

The first was against a domestic rival – Nathan Cleverly in 2014. The ‘Bomber’ lost a majority decision at the Echo Arena in Liverpool and was sent back to the drawing board.

Bellew’s final fight at light heavyweight was a shot at Adonis Stevenson’s WBC title, but he fell short again this time in more definite terms. Stevenson stopped Bellew in the sixth round to force the Liverpudlian up to cruiserweight.

He got the opportunity of a lifetime in 2016, to fight for the WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park, his boyhood football club’s stadium.

Bellew produced a stunning third-round knockout and went on to defend the title only once before fighting Haye twice, then closing out his career with a shot for all the cruiserweight marbles against Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk knocked Bellew out in the eighth round to make him 1-3 in fights for world honours, but he did fight for the undisputed title, which is why he sits above Liam Smith.

4. Nick Ball, 22-0-1 (13)

There is an argument to be made that Nick Ball should be the unified featherweight champion after a controversial draw with Rey Vargas – dropping the Mexican twice and pushing the pace of the fight looked to be enough to win.

He then recovered quickly to move on and claim the WBA title instead, beating Raymond Ford on the Matchroom vs Queensberry show last year.

If Ball were the unified champion, then he would feature higher on this list, but he has two title defences and has fought a current or former world champion in three of his last four outings, which is enough to place him above Bellew.

The best of Ball is yet to come. At only 28, there will be plenty more opportunities for greatness, especially with a potential fight against Naoya Inoue looming.

3. Callum Smith, 31-2 (22)

Callum Smith has the most individual accolades of any man on this list and is the most successful of any of his brothers.

His rise to world title level began in 2015 when he won the British and WBC silver super middleweight titles in a statement first-round stoppage of the undefeated Rocky Fielding.

His continued good form earned him a spot in the World Boxing Super Series, which he won, defeating George Groves in the final to claim the Muhammad Ali trophy and WBA belt.

His time as a super middleweight came to an end when he was unanimously beaten by Canelo Alvarez, but he found success in his move to 175lbs, losing his first title shot against Artur Beterbiev, but coming back to claim the WBO interim title against compatriot Joshua Buatsi.

2. Natasha Jonas, 16-3-1 (9)

Natasha Jonas is undoubtedly the best female fighter to come out of Liverpool.

She made history by becoming the first female boxer from Great Britain to qualify for the Olympics before going on to achieve multi-division world champion status as a professional.

After suffering her first defeat as a professional to Katie Taylor, challenging for the undisputed lightweight title, she moved up to super welterweight and became the unified champion, beating Patricia Berghult and Marie Dicaire.

She then moved down to welterweight, where she once again unified the titles, including a career-best win over Mikaela Mayer in 2024.

Jonas attempted to cap off an already legendary career by becoming the undisputed welterweight champion but was defeated by Olympic gold medallist Lauren Price.

But her existence at the top level of the sport across four different weight classes cements her as one of the best fighters, male or female, to ever hail from Liverpool.

1. John Conteh, 33-4-1 (24)

John Conteh is a beloved character not just as a fighter but as a member of the community by many in Liverpool.

He was a British, Commonwealth and European champion in the early 1970s with two victories over Chris Finnegan before going on to become Liverpool’s first-ever boxing world champion in 1974, outpointing Jorge Ahumada in 1974 to claim the WBC light heavyweight title.

Conteh reigned for four years, defending his title four times before losing a tight split decision to Mate Parlov in 1978.

The Liverpudlian had two more attempts at a world title, both against Matthew Saad Muhammad before retiring in 1980.

Watch Ball vs Goodman live on DAZN

Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman is live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday 16 August. Buy the PPV for a one-off fee or get it for free by purchasing a DAZN annual subscription (exc. US). More information, pricing and to buy click here.