Nelson vs Ballard

Who won Nelson vs Ballard?

Steven Nelson beat James Ballard by knockout in the 1st round on Saturday, December 10th, 2022, at CHI Health Center, Omaha.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 8 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 175 pounds (12.5 stone or 79.4 kg).

This fight appeared on the undercard of Terence Crawford beating David Avanesyan for the WBO World Welterweight championship. Also on the undercard Arnold Khegai defeated Eduardo Baez, and Cris Cyborg was victorious over Gabby Holloway.

Nelson vs Ballard stats

Back in December 2022, Steven Nelson stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 17 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws, 14 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

James Ballard made his way to the ring with a record of 10 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, with 3 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Nelson had a massive power advantage over Ballard, boasting a 82% knockout percentage compared to Ballard's 30%.

Steven Nelson was the older man by 2 years, at 34 years old.

Ballard had a height advantage of 3 inches over Nelson.

Both Steven Nelson and James Ballard fought out of an orthodox stance.

Nelson was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in 2016, 1 year and 11 months later than Ballard, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 18 more professional rounds, totaling 84 compared to Ballard's 66.

Nelson vs Ballard form

Nelson remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated DeAndre Ware on September 5, 2020, by technical knockout in the 6th round at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Cem Kilic on January 11, 2020, by technical knockout in the 8th round at Mark G. Etess Arena, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Derrick Findley on September 1, 2019, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Century Link Parking Lot, Nebraska.

Before that, he had won against Victor Darocha on May 25, 2019, by technical knockout in the 7th round at Osceola Heritage Park, Florida.

He had beaten Felipe Romero on February 15, 2019, by unanimous decision in their 6 round contest at Grand Casino, Minnesota.

Activity check

Nelson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 25 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 9 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 31 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.2 rounds on average.

What time did Nelson vs Ballard start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST at CHI Health Center, Omaha, United States, which was around 1:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Nelson vs Ballard?

Nelson vs Ballard was broadcast on BLK Prime PPV in both the United States and the UK.

What were the odds on Nelson vs Ballard?

Steven Nelson was a 1/30 (-3000) favorite going into the contest, while James Ballard made his way into the ring at 10/1 (+1000) with oddsmakers.