Rachel Ball Explained

Rachel Ball
Weight:
Height:5 ft 9 in
Nationality:English
Birth Date:1991 3, df=y
Birth Place:Walsall, West Midlands, England[1]
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:817038
Total:8
Wins:7
Ko:0
Losses:1

Rachel Ball (born 12 March 1991) is an English professional boxer and former kickboxer who held the WBC female interim super-bantamweight title.

Professional career

Ball made her professional debut on 17 December 2017, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory against Claudia Ferenczi at the Banks's Stadium's Stadium Suite in Walsall.[2] After three more PTS victories she suffered the first defeat of her career in March 2019, losing by majority decision (MD) over eight rounds against former European female super-featherweight champion Katharina Thanderz.[3]

She bounced back from defeat with a ten-round PTS win against Bec Connolly in a final eliminator for the Commonwealth female super-featherweight title in November,[4] [5] followed by a victory against favoured opponent Shannon Courtenay in August 2020. After dropping Courtenay in the opening round with a left hook, Ball secured the win via PTS over eight rounds.[6]

She next faced IBF female junior-bantamweight champion Jorgelina Guanini on 14 November 2020, with the vacant WBC female interim super-bantamweight title on the line. The bout served as part of the undercard for Katie Taylor's world title defence against Miriam Gutiérrez at The SSE Arena in London. Ball was originally scheduled to face Ebanie Bridges for the vacant WBA female bantamweight title, but Bridges was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury during training.[7] The WBA title was set to still be up for grabs with the change of opponent, however, after Guanini failed to make the bantamweight limit at the pre-fight weigh-in, the WBA withdrew their sanction for the fight.[8] The WBC agreed to allow the pair to fight for their interim super-bantamweight world title, but Guanini also failed to weigh inside the super-bantamweight limit, causing the title to be on the line for Ball only.[9] Ball stayed behind her jab for the first three rounds, moving forward while fighting at range as Guanini closed the distance to fight on the inside with hooks. The pair engaged at close quarters in the fourth before Ball went back to fighting at range with combination punches in the fifth. Ball became more aggressive in the second half of the fight, landing straight right hands and hooks en route to a wide unanimous decision (UD) victory. Two judges scored the bout 99–91 and the third scored it 99–92 to award Ball the WBC female interim super-bantamweight title.[10]

Ball was scheduled to fight Shannon Courtenay for the vacant WBA female bantamweight title on 10 April 2021 but withdrew due to illness.[11]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
8Win7–1 Jorgelina Guanini1014 Nov 2020
7Win6–1 Shannon CourtenayPTS814 Aug 2020
6Win5–1 Bec ConnollyPTS1030 Nov 2019
5Loss4–1 Katharina Thanderz82 Mar 2019
4Win4–0 Eftychia KathopouliPTS620 Jul 2018
3Win3–0 Monika AntonikPTS44 May 2018
2Win2–0 Bojana LibiszewskaPTS610 Feb 2018
1Win1–0 Claudia Ferenczi417 Dec 2017

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Keen. Liam. 14 November 2020. Walsall's Rachel Ball is up for world title challenge. 22 November 2020. www.expressandstar.com. en.
  2. Web site: BoxRec: Rachel Ball vs. Claudia Ferenczi. 22 November 2020. BoxRec.
  3. Web site: Persson. Per Ake. 2 March 2019. Kai Robin Havnaa Blasts Out Rad Rashid To Claim IBO Strap. 22 November 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  4. Web site: BoxRec: Rachel Ball vs. Bec Connolly. 23 November 2020. BoxRec.
  5. Web site: Reynolds. Shaun. 12 November 2019. Boxing: Bec bids to get a crack at the crown. 23 November 2020. Swindon Advertiser. en.
  6. News: 14 August 2020. Shannon Courtenay beaten by Rachel Ball for first defeat at Fight Camp. en-gb. BBC Sport. 23 November 2020.
  7. Web site: Christ. Scott. 4 November 2020. Rachel Ball to face Jorgelina Guanini on Nov. 14, Ebanie Bridges out. 22 November 2020. www.badlefthook.com. en.
  8. Web site: Lewis. Ron. 13 November 2020. Rachel Ball-Jorgelina Guanini: Weight, World Title Issues Revole Around Bout. 22 November 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  9. Web site: Lewis. Ron. 14 November 2020. Rachel Ball Boxes Past Jorgelina Guanini For WBC Interim-Title. 22 November 2020. BoxingScene.com. en-us.
  10. Web site: Damerell. Richard. 15 November 2020. Taylor vs Gutierrez: Rachel Ball defeats Jorgelina Guanini on points to claim interim WBC super-bantamweight belt. 22 November 2020. Sky Sports. en.
  11. Web site: Rachel Ball out of next month's world title fight. Express and Star. 2024-05-03.