Ball vs Goodman

Who won Ball vs Goodman?

Nick Ball beat Sam Goodman by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, August 16th, 2025, at ANB Arena, Riyadh.

The scorecards were announced as 115-113, 118-110, 117-111 in favor of winner Nick Ball.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 126 pounds (9 stone or 57.1 kg).

This contest was for the WBA featherweight championship of the world.

Ball was making his 4th defense of the WBA World Featherweight Championship. He won this belt against Raymond Ford in June 2024. He had held this belt for 1 year, 3 months and 22 days.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Moses Itauma beating Dillian Whyte. Also on the undercard Raymond Ford beat Abraham Nova, Filip Hrgovic defeated David Adeleye, Hayato Tsutsumi was victorious over Qais Ashfaq, and Mohammed Alakel beat Yumnam Santosh Singh.

Ball vs Goodman stats

Nick Ball stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 22 wins, zero losses, and 1 draw.

Sam Goodman made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 20 wins and 0 draws.

Nick Ball was the older man by 2 years, at 28 years old.

Goodman had a height advantage of 2 inches over Ball. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Both Nick Ball and Sam Goodman fought out of an orthodox stance.

Ball's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Goodman's, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in 2017, 9 months earlier than Goodman, whose first professional fight was in 2018. He had fought 13 fewer professional rounds, totaling 146 compared to Goodman's 159.

Sam Goodman was ranked number 6 by the WBA in the 126lb division.

Ball vs Goodman form

Ball remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 1 of his recent opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated TJ Doheny on March 15, 2025, by in the 10th round in their WBA World Featherweight championship fight at Echo Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had defeated Ronny Rios on October 5, 2024, by technical knockout in the 10th round in their WBA World Featherweight championship fight at Liverpool Arena, Liverpool.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Raymond Ford on June 1, 2024, by split decision in their WBA World Featherweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Before that, he had drawn with Rey Vargas on March 8, 2024, by split draw in their 12 round contest in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.

He had won against Isaac Dogboe on November 18, 2023, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Featherweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Goodman had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had beaten Cesar Vaca Espinoza on May 14, 2025, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia.

Prior to that, he had beaten Thattana Luangphon on July 10, 2024, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Mark Schleibs on March 13, 2024, by technical knockout in the 4th round at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong.

Before that, he had won against Zhong Liu on December 15, 2023, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at The Star, Sydney, Pyrmont.

He had defeated Miguel Flores on October 15, 2023, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Nick Ball had been fighting more than Sam Goodman.

Going into this contest, Nick Ball had last fought 5 months and 1 day ago, while Sam Goodman's last outing had been 3 months and 2 days ago.

Ball's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 8 months and 29 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 4 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 56 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11.2 rounds on average.

Goodman's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 10 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 50 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10 rounds on average.

What time did Ball vs Goodman start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 8:15 PM UTC at ANB Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was 4:15 PM EST or 1:15 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 9:15 PM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Ball vs Goodman?

Ball vs Goodman was broadcast on DAZN PPV in both the United States and the UK.

What were the odds on Ball vs Goodman?

Nick Ball was a 1/5 (-500) favorite going into the contest, while Sam Goodman made his way into the ring at 7/2 (+350) with oddsmakers.