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

Rachel Ball
Born (1991-03-12) 12 March 1991 (age 33)
NationalityEnglish
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights8
Wins7
Wins by KO0
Losses1

Professional career

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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

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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

References

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

14 November 2020 – present
Incumbent