Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman Preview August 16th, 2025
Unbeaten WBA Featherweight Champion Nick Ball of Liverpool, England defends his belt for the third time when he takes on undefeated Sam Goodman of Australia this Saturday, August 16th. The 12-rounder takes place in Saudi Arabia and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view. Ball last fought in March when he stopped TJ Doheny after three rounds. Ball won the title in June of last year when he edged Raymond Ford by a split decision. His first defence was a 10th-round TKO over Ronny Rios in October. Goodman was last in the ring in May when he beat Cesar Vaca Espinoza via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Ball vs Goodman Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Sam Goodman +325
- Nick Ball -450
My Pick
The 28-year-old Ball enters the contest with a near-perfect mark of 22-0-1 with 13 Ko’s and has 134 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 4.5 inches in height to Goodman and 1.5-inches in reach. Ball has decent power in his fists with 59.1 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage but has gone the distance in three of his past five fights.
He had won five fights in a row by stoppage and 11 of 13 until going the distance with Isaac Dogboe in November, and 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.
Goodman is just 26 years old and climbs through the ropes with a perfect mark of 20-0 with 8 Ko’s. He’s boxed 147 rounds since turning pro in 2018 following an amateur career which saw him reach the semifinals of the 2017 Australian National Championships and 2013 and 2014 Junior Championships. He won the 2017 Oceanian Championships and also fought at the 2016 AIBA Youth World Championships and won the Australian Youth and Junior National Championship in 2016. He stands just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 66.5-inch reach.
Goodman likes to remain busy as he fought four times in 2023 as he beat Zhong Liu, Miguel Flores and Ra’eese Aleem by 12-round unanimous decisions and downed TJ Doheny by 10-round unanimous decision to defend his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight Title. He fought just twice last year though and his title shot against Naoya Inoue was ultimately cancelled due to eye damage suffered by Goodman in training. As far as power goes, Goodman is below average with 40 per cent of his victories coming by stoppage and he’s gone the distance in eight of his last 10 outings.
Since turning pro Goodman has also captured the vacant Australasian Featherweight Title along with the IBF Inter-Continental, and WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight Belts. He took a step up in class for the first time last year with his unanimous decision over former world champion TJ Doheny and followed up with the wins over Aleem, Flores and Liu but took a step backwards or sideways against Mark Schleibs and Thachtana Luangphon. Goodman also has victories over Richie Mepranum and Juan Miguel Elorde.
Prediction…
Ball has the power to do some damage, even late in fights, due to his relentless pressure and punching. Goodman, however, relies on his boxing skills. Basically we have a puncher vs boxer matchup here and Goodman have to nail the champion from the outside or simply absorb his power shots while he tries to keep him at bay and outbox him. I believe Ball’s aggression will eventually pay off and if he doesn’t stop Goodman his tactics should earn him a decision.
Ball is much more aggressive with more power.
Play: Ball -450 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Nick Ball betting • Sam Goodman betting