Ball Ready To Make A Splash
Rachel Ball is set for her third professional fight on Friday night and is looking to make a big splash on home soil writesBen Gibson.
The 27-year-old featherweight, a three times World Kickboxing champion, appears in her hometown of Walsall on BCB Promotions’ Neutral Ground show and is in confident mood.
Ball features on the undercard of the British Middleweight Title clash between Tommy Langford and Jason Welborn sponsored by Amphion Construction, Alliance Scaffolding and Grosvenor Casino Walsall.
“This is the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been,” she told bcb-promotions.com. “I’m itching to get in there.
“I’ve gone from being the top of my game as a kickboxer to starting from scratch again. While I think that Pro Boxing suits my style of fighting well, I’m still at the beginning of my journey and I’ve got a lot to learn and develop on.
“I don’t have an ego and I’m very humble and modest so I’m happy to be on this journey.
“I feel that turning over (to professional boxing) really is just the beginning of what’s to come for my fighting journey.
“My aim first and foremost is for next weekend, I want to win and I’d like a stoppage as well.
“At the moment I want to build up my experience and to keep fighting regularly. Whatever the rest of the year brings I’m sure there will be a surprise as everything is just a whirlwind at the moment!
“I think for me boxing started to get interesting when women started competing at the Olympics, since then the women in boxing have been my idols. I’m hoping to emulate them in my own career.
“BCB have been really supportive to myself and my trainer, Gavin Burrows (who made the switch in sports alongside Ball).
“I still train under Trojan but since I signed with BCB the coaches and fighters have been behind me and helping me 100%.
“It’s difficult getting female opponents but Errol (Johnson) has gone out of his way to find me good international opponents which of course incurs additional costs too, I think he’s seen potential in me and wants to give me the best opportunities possible.
“One of their sponsors is The Village gym so they’ve provided me with membership to the gym which I use every week morning which is brilliant for my training.
“They’ve also welcomed Gavin onto their shows as he’s now a licensed trainer too so he can get experience of coaching in the pro rankings.
“For me, BCB are going from strength to strength in their shows and their fighters so it’s a really exciting time to be a part of BCB and I’m grateful for everything they do for me.”
Tickets, for Neutral Ground - Langford versus Welborn - priced at £50 standard unreserved and £150 VIP Ringside, are on sale now from the Walsall Town Hall Box Office 0845 111 2900.
The undercard also features Tyler Denny, Swadlincote super welterweight, Ross Hollis, Doncaster heavyweight, Dave Allen, and Birmingham duo Kane Baker (super lightweight), Shaka Thompson (super middleweight).