Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa Preview Feb. 7th, 2026
Unbeaten WBA Featherweight Champion Nick Ball of Liverpool, England defends his belt against former WBA/WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Brandon Figueroa of Weslaco, Texas this Saturday, February 7th. The 12-rounder from Balls’ hometown can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Figueroa last fought in July when he beat Joet Gonzalez by a somewhat controversial 12-round unanimous decision. In his previous outing Figueroa dropped a unanimous decision to former WBA and WBO Bantamweight boss Stephen Fulton for the WBC Featherweight Crown. Figueroa had beaten Mark Magsayo via unanimous decision to win the interim title in 2023 and then stopped former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jessie Magdaleno in the ninth round in 2024 before losing his rematch to Fulton. Figueroa and Fulton first met in November, 2021 with Fulton winning a highly-controversial majority decision to hand Figueroa his first pro defeat. Fulton was the WBO Super Bantamweight Champion at the time while Figueroa was the WBC holder. Ball last saw action in August when he beat Sam Goodman by unanimous decision. Ball won the title in June, 2024 when he edged Raymond Ford by a split decision. His first defence was a 10th-round TKO over Ronny Rios. He then stopped TJ Doheny after three rounds and beat Goodman on points.
Ball vs Figueroa Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Brandon Figueroa +250
- Nick Ball -325
My Pick
The 28-year-old Ball enters the contest with a near-perfect mark of 23-0-1 with 13 Ko’s and has 146 rounds of pro experience to his name since making his debut in 2017. Prior to that he enjoyed a good amateur career which saw him box at the 2013 Great Britain Junior Championships. He measures just 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 65-inch reach so gives up seven inches in height to Figueroa and 7.5-inches in reach. Ball has decent power in his fists with 56.5 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage but has gone the distance in four of his past six fights.
He had won five fights in a row by stoppage and 11 of 13 until going the distance with Isaac Dogboe in November, 2023 and had earned the nickname ‘Wrecking Ball’ over that stretch. That being said, just one of his first 11 opponents had a winning record. Ball won the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title in April, 2022 when he stopped Isaac Lowe in the sixth round and defended it three times against Nathanael Kakololo, Jesus Ramirez Rubio and Ludumo Lamati, all by stoppage.
Two of those wins came in the 12th and final round so it’s obvious that Ball’s power is still evident late in fights. Ball’s first attempt at a world title came against Rey Vargas in March, 2024 but he failed to lift the belt as the two battled to a 12-round split decision draw. Ball dropped Vargas in the eighth and 11th rounds but the scorecards read 116-110 Ball, 113-113 and 114-112 Vargas and Vargas retained the WBC Featherweight Title in a very controversial decision.
The 29-year-old Figueroa captured the vacant interim WBA Super Bantamweight Title when he stopped Yonfrez Parejo after eight rounds in April, 2019 before stopping Javier Chacon in four rounds in August and then drawing with an overweight Julio Ceja in a slugfest three months later. He was the WBA Champion when he stopped WBC beltholder Luis Nery in seven rounds in May, 2021 to win that title. However, the geniuses who run the WBA stripped him of their belt for agreeing to fight WBO boss Fulton in November, 2021 and he lost a controversial majority decision in that bout as well as his title.
Between his two losses to Fulton, he stopped Carlos Castro in the sixth round in 2022, beat Mark Magsayo by unanimous decision a year later, and stopped Jessie Magdaleno. He bounced back from the second loss to Fulton with his unanimous nod over Joet Gonzalez. This means Figueroa climbs through the ropes with a mark of 26-2-1 with 19 Ko’s. He’s boxed 186 rounds since turning pro in 2015, stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72.5-inch reach and possesses explosive fists as 73.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However he has gone the distance in three of his last six fights and in five of his past nine.
Figueroa’s displayed a rock solid chin so far and needed it in wins over the likes of Chacon, Parejo, Nery, Moises Flores, Oscar Escandon, Victor Proa and Fatiou Fassinou. As an amateur, Figueroa lost to Shakur Stevenson and beat Chris Colbert. Brandon is the younger brother of former world champion Omar Figueroa and is an excellent all-action fighter. He stepped up in class for the first time against Oscar Escandon in 2018 and passed the test when he stopped him in the 10th round and followed up by stopping Moises Flores in the third round.
Prediction…
Ball has the power to do some damage, even late in fights due to his relentless pressure and punching. However he gives up seven inches in height and reach to Figueroa. While that may sound like a big advantage for the challenger, we need to realize Figueroa doesn’t use his size to advantage as he prefers to fight on the inside and simply let his hands fly. Basically we have a pair of inside brawlers here and this has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year candidate, as most of Figueroa’s and Ball’s fights do. Ball is likely to dig both hands to the body while Figueroa leans forward and replies in kind. There’s no doubt Figueroa hasn’t looked as good as usual in his last few outings and that’s understandable due the wars he’s been through. This will be his first fight outside of America and he definitely won’t get any help from the less-than-mediocre judging and refereeing in the UK. Figueroa has the tools do win this fight but he needs to adapt to what’s in front of him as he simply loves to go toe-to-toe. If he uses his brain as well as his brawn I’m expecting Figueroa to lift the belt in a violent affair.
Figueroa wins with the right game plan.
Play: Figueroa. +250 @ BetOnline.ag
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Brandon Figueroa betting • Nick Ball betting