Nick Ball W12 Sam Goodman.... In Saudi Arabia, Great Britain's Nick Ball retained his WBA featherweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Australia's Sam Goodman. The fight was a competitive one, with Goodman starting well but Ball overtaking him on the cards as the rounds wore on. Official scores were too wide, but the right man won by tallies of  118-110, 117-111 and 115-113. Although Goodman was the one moving up in weight for this fight, he is taller with a longer reach than the compact Ball and did well early, keeping Ball at the end of his jab. The "Wrecking Ball" of old finally began to emerge in round five, but as the boxers entered the second half of the bout, the rounds got closer and a couple were difficult to score. Ball entered the fight 3-0-1 in world title fights, and his championship experience seemed to help him down the stretch. Ball had his best success when he threw uppercuts from middle range.

Goodman's losing effort earned him one very influential fan. Turki Alalshikh, the most important man in boxing, tweeted, "I thought Sam Goodman did fantastic in his fight with Nick Ball. He showed a lot of skill and the rounds were close. I would love to see more of him on future Riyadh Season and Ring Magazine cards."