Rey Vargas, Nick Ball Fight To 12-Round Split Decision Draw; Vargas Retains WBC Title

On March 8, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there was a WBC World Featherweight title fight between Rey Vargas and Nick Ball. The event was called Knockout Chaos boxing card and it took place at the Kingdom Arena. Nick Ball could be seen punching Rey Vargas in a photo taken by Richard Pelham/Getty Images.

Nick Ball made a great comeback in the second half but unfortunately fell short of winning his first major championship.

The challenger who had never lost before managed to come back from a huge score difference to avoid getting his first ever defeat. Rey Vargas from Mexico managed to keep his WBC featherweight title after a twelve-round match on Friday evening in Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite two calls for a knockdown, he managed to secure a draw with a split decision.

The judges had different opinions on who won the fight between Vargas and Ball. Judge Massimo Barrovecchio thought Vargas won with a score of 114-112, while Jun Bae Lim had a wider score of 116-110 in favor of Ball. The third judge, Rey Danseco, gave Vargas seven rounds, but with the two knockdowns, the score became even, resulting in a split draw.

Vargas came into the match being ranked as the third-best fighter in the 126-pound category by The Ring. However, he hadn't competed in this weight category since July 2022, when he won the title by beating Mark Magsayo. The only fight he had since then was his only loss to O'Shaquie Foster in February, during their WBC 130-pound title fight.

At the beginning of the fight, Vargas didn't seem affected by inactivity from not having fought in a while. He performed well during the first half and made good use of his size advantage over Ball, who is only 5 feet and 2 inches tall and ranked 10th in the 126-pound category. Ball tried her best to move forward, but she had difficulty landing any impactful shots due to her opponent's height and reach advantage.

Ball seemed quite irritated during the match. He received a warning in the second round after he threw Vargas to the ground. Additionally, referee Giovanni Poggi spoke out against him numerous times for other rule violations, although he didn't lose any points.

During the night's second title fight, a sudden change occurred in the latter half that was quite startling.

Vargas was leading on two of the three scorecards, but in the middle of the seventh round, he encountered some difficulties. Ball's powerful shots caused Vargas to stagger twice during the last minute and a half of the round, which sparked a huge surge.

Vargas had a tough time as the situation worsened when he got pushed down just before the bell marking the end of the eighth round. He strongly objected against Ball's actions and he was partially correct as Ball used his left arm to throw Vargas onto the mat before he hit him with a right hook and left punch. Vargas fell on the ground and the referee, Poggi, began to count.

In round nine, Ball continued with the same energy, but Vargas managed to regain the upper hand in the tenth round. Vargas secured a victory according to one scorecard, but Ball did not lose his momentum and kept up the fight.

In the final moments of the eleventh round, Vargas removed his mouthguard and threw it into the audience following another knockdown announcement. Ball gained an advantage by attacking Vargas along the ropes and striking him with a forceful blow to the temple. Vargas lost his balance and tumbled to the mat, but attempted to defend himself by claiming that he stumbled over Ball's foot. However, his defense proved ineffective.

Vargas tried his best to win in the last round, but he couldn't secure a victory. However, he managed to hold onto his title. Both boxers claimed they were the rightful winner when it was all over.

Alternatively, they have the opportunity to repeat their success.

According to Compubox, Vargas, who has a record of 36-1-1 and 22 knockouts, landed 118 out of 536 total punches, which is 22%. Ball, who is undefeated with a record of 19-0-1 and 12 KOs, landed 111 out of 472 punches, which is a slightly better margin at 23.5%. Additionally, Ball connected with the more significant punches during the fight.

Two out of three judges did not think he did well enough and he may have missed out on a big chance to become the champion. There are rumors that if he had won, he would have had a chance to fight the new WBA featherweight champion, Raymond Ford (who has 15 wins, 1 draw, and 9 knockouts), who is ranked sixth in the weight class. This fight was supposed to be a big part of the upcoming tournament in June between Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions.

The possibility of the matchup is not completely out of the picture. However, the only thing that could be on the line is Ford's WBA championship title. It's worth noting that Ford is under the Matchroom Boxing promotional banner while Ball is currently represented by Queensberry Promotions.

Ball was given a chance to advance after winning a fight against Isaac Dogboe, a former titleholder in the WBO 122-pound category, in Manchester, England on November 18. The win was decided by unanimous decision after twelve rounds.

The match was a component of a six-bout pay-per-view event streamed on DAZN and PPV.com.

Jake Donovan is an experienced writer for The Ring magazine and is currently serving as the vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. For more of his boxing insights, you can follow him on Twitter at @JakeNDaBox.