Rachel Ball
English boxer (born 1991)
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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.[3] 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.[4]
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,[5][6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
Ball was scheduled to fight Shannon Courtenay for the vacant WBA female bantamweight title on 10 April 2021 but withdrew due to illness.[12]
Professional boxing record
| 8 fights | 7 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By decision | 7 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Win | 7–1 |  Jorgelina Guanini |
UD | 10 | 14 Nov 2020 |  The SSE Arena, London, England |
Won vacant WBC female interim super-bantamweight title |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Shannon Courtenay |
PTS | 8 | 14 Aug 2020 | Matchroom Headquarters, Brentwood, England |
|
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Bec Connolly |
PTS | 10 | 30 Nov 2019 | Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, England |
|
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 |  Katharina Thanderz |
MD | 8 | 2 Mar 2019 | SØR Amfi, Arendal, Norway |
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Eftychia Kathopouli |
PTS | 6 | 20 Jul 2018 | Stadium Suite at Banks's Stadium, Walsall, England |
|
| 3 | Win | 3–0 |  Monika Antonik |
PTS | 4 | 4 May 2018 | Town Hall, Walsall, England |
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Bojana Libiszewska |
PTS | 6 | 10 Feb 2018 | Stadium Suite at Banks's Stadium, Walsall, England |
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 |  Claudia Ferenczi |
PTS | 4 | 17 Dec 2017 | Stadium Suite at Banks's Stadium, Walsall, England |
|