Craig Richards upsets Jake Ball in the O2
In an interesting domestic level bout for the WBA continental belt, between light-heavyweight rivals Craig Richard (13-1, 7KO) and Jake Ball (14-1, 9KO), started with instant fireworks.
The back-and-forth build-up for this fight had the interest of British fans piqued. There was a lot on the line in this fight, where one guy pressed forward while the other kept returning to the drawing board.
Richards came out, from the beginning of the bell, establishing the game plan. He maintained foot placement against the southpaw opponent, while throwing the counter straight-hand (the most effective punch against a southpaw). This would lead to an early first-round knockdown with a beautiful straight right-counter.
He would then follow it up with two more knockdowns in the second round; one of them coming from a vicious body shot. The aforementioned opponent would survive only to suffer another knock down in the third round. Ball’s unstable legs and continuous absorption of punches prompted the ref to jump in and stop the fight.
Ball felt the stoppage was premature. However, you can’t argue that the end was inevitable.
Richards, the newly crowned WBA continental champions, admitted that a lot was learned from sparring sessions with fellow stablemate Joshua Buatsi. Its a huge win that moves him closer to a hopeful title opportunity sometime this year.
By: Garrisson Bland
