The best from fight night so farpublished at 21:15 British Summer Time 5 October
Image source, Queensberry Promotions
Image source, Queensberry Promotions
Image source, Queensberry PromotionsSummary
Nick Ball retains WBA featherweight title by stopping Ronny Rios in Liverpool
Ball drops Rios three times before towel thrown in in round ten
Liverpool fighter remains unbeaten in front of his hometown fans
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The best from fight night so farpublished at 21:15 British Summer Time 5 October
Image source, Queensberry PromotionsImage source, Queensberry PromotionsImage source, Queensberry PromotionsListen: A title defence and a homecomingpublished at 21:12 British Summer Time 5 October
BBC SoundsSteve Bunce is back with another podcast and, surprise, surprise, it's all about Nick Ball's homecoming.
Bunce catches up with WBA featherweight champion Ball, his opponent Ronny Rios and promoter George Warren.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn also makes an appearance to talk about the upcoming bout between Galal Yafai and Sunny Edwards on 30 November.
From nightclubs to headline actpublished at 21:09 British Summer Time 5 October
Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at M&S Bank Arena, LiverpoolWhat have I got in common with Nick Ball? We were both hanging around in nightclubs in 2017. The difference being, Ball was making his boxing debut and I was desperately clinging to my youth.
Seven years later, just a 17-minute walk from Fusion nightclub where he outpointed Dmitrijs Gutmans, Ball is a world champion who headlines the city's biggest arena.
'Hard work pays off'published at 21:05 British Summer Time 5 October
Image source, Queensberry PromotionsNick Ball is fast becoming one of my favourite fighters, especially considering my previous favourite Josh Warrington hung up the gloves last month.
Heavyweights so often hog the limelight and it's understandable, who doesn't like to watch a couple of giants throwing big shots with a knockout usually on the agenda?
But there's something to be said for the lower weight classes, with speed and technical ability aplenty to capture an audience.
Ball fits right into that category. He's an all-action, front-foot fighter and has recently found a purple patch for wrapping up victories inside the distance.
After successive fights in Saudi Arabia - a controversial draw against Rey Vargas, when many felt Ball had done enough to win the WBC featherweight title, and a victory against Raymond Ford to seal the WBA featherweight strap - Ball will be buzzing to be back on home soil and just a stones throw from his house.
During those two bouts in Riyadh, Ball has been a small cog in the big show, but tonight he is the main event and he has promised to put on a show for his fans.
"We get behind our own if we see someone doing well and putting the hard work in, it pays off," Ball said at a news conference on Thursday.
Listen livepublished at 20:32 British Summer Time 5 October
BBC Radio 5 LiveWe have live radio commentary of the action if you fancy tuning in.
Just click the 'listen live' button at the top of this page.
Ronald McIntosh is on commentary alongside two-time featherweight world champion Josh Warrington and former British super-middleweight champion Paul Smith.
I'll leave you with that for now and will return with some build up and live text updates of the fight shortly!
A future Liverpool boxing legend?published at 20:28 British Summer Time 5 October
Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at M&S Bank Arena, LiverpoolThis city loves its boxing.
I was in the Museum of Liverpool earlier this year and, amongst the plethora of footballing memorabilia, some of the city's boxing heroes were proudly celebrated.
Could Kirkby-born Nick Ball join the likes of light-heavyweight legend John Conteh and fellow champions Tony Bellew and Natasha Jonas in also becoming a Liverpudlian boxing superstar.
He's already proven himself as an elite featherweight but a win over Ronny Rios tonight could set himself up for unification fights.
A Scouse homecomingpublished at 20:26 British Summer Time 5 October
Image source, Queensberry PromotionsNick Ball returns to his native Liverpool for the first time since 2020 and this time he has the WBA featherweight title in his possession.
Ball, born in Kirkby, is making the first defence of the belt he claimed in Saudi Arabia in June and has American Ronny Rios for company at the M&S Bank Arena.
The 27-year-old is yet to lose in 21 professional bouts, winning 20 and drawing one, and will be desperate to avoid tasting defeat for the first time on his grand homecoming.
Will it be a celebratory night for the Liverpudlian? Or has the more experienced Rios what it takes to pull off an upset?