Ray Ford welcomes a Nick Ball rematch, but on one condition

When Ray ‘Savage’ Ford produced a dramatic 12 ^th -round TKO of Otabek Kholmatov in March 2024, he realized his main goal of becoming a featherweight world champion.

Though the 26-year-old Camden, New Jersey product lost the title to Nick Ball in his next fight, Ford’s outlook at super featherweight has remained simple.

“My thing is to beat whoever is in my division, beat the world champions in my division and just keep moving forward to stamp my legacy,” Ford told DAZN News as part of a recent media conference call.

Ford is hoping a dominant showing against Abraham Nova in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and live on DAZN Pay-Per-View tonight , becomes the key that unlocks a super featherweight world championship opportunity for his next bout.

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While Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) would welcome challenging any of the super featherweight world champions, stylistically there is a fight that stands out to him most — against WBO titleholder Emanuel Navarrete.

“He’s got an engine, he comes forward, throws a lot of punches, just awkward shots, and he don’t really care about defense,” Ford said about the Mexican warrior. “That’s made for me to do my part on countering him with shots and there’s going to be times where we’re going to get into a fight. That’s going to be a great fight.”

Avenging the sole loss of his career, a split-decision defeat to Ball in June 2024, is something that intrigues Ford too, though there is just one condition that ‘Savage’ would require for a potential rematch with the Brit.

“Only if he’s moving up to 130,” Ford said of Ball who is putting the WBA featherweight title on the line against Australian Sam Goodman on the same card Saturday. “My focus is on the world champions at 130. But if [Ball] moves up in weight, definitely.”

Until then, Ford’s aim is to batter Nova (23-3-1, 16 KOs) who enters this bout winless in his last three fights with a draw and two losses. Ford wants to claim a title shot soon thereafter, whether against Navarrete, Eduardo Nunez, O’Shaquie Foster or Lamont Roach if the latter stays at 130 pounds.

Ford believes he “has seen a bunch of Novas" over the course of his career and that nothing he brings will be “too foreign to me.”

A brilliant showing and Ford could feel a world title shot within arm’s reach.

“Hopefully it could get me to a world title shot with my next fight,” Ford said. “That’s what I could hope.”

‘Savage’ mode activated.

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