Raymond Ford To Consider One More Fight At Featherweight – For The Right Offer

March 15, 2024
11 months
Raymond Ford

WBA featherweight world champion Raymond Ford said he would remain in the division for at least one more fight for the right offer and opponent.

Ford (15-0-1 8 KO) secured his first world title in spectacular style on March 12 when he stopped Otabek Kholmatov with just seven seconds remaining in the final round. The American was trailing the Uzbek on two of the three judges’ scorecards.

Instead of calling out his other rivals in the featherweight division, Ford insisted he was targeting a move up to super-featherweight. The New Jersey fighter has previously said he struggles to make the 126lbs weight limit and a step up to 130lbs would allow him to fight at a more comfortable weight.

However, Ford has now said he could remain a featherweight for the time being but only for the right opportunity. One fight that promoters and organizers would be keen to make is against Nick Ball, who controversially drew with WBC champion Rey Vargas in Saudi Arabia last Friday.

Ford ‘Could Make One More Fight At 126’

Ford’s promoter Eddie Hearn had proposed a fight with Ball following his fighter’s victory over Kholmatov earlier this month – but only if Ball won the title. Despite falling short, there is a huge clamor for the Englishman to be given another title shot.

“We have just got to wait and see,” Ford, 24, told ProBox TV. “But I feel that I could make one more fight at 126, depending on who it is against and the numbers – but I do want to go up to 130.

“I want to fight the world champions up there. So that is where we are now with that one. It was kind of tough making weight, but I also felt a little bit off early on in the fight.”

Ford, however, insisted it wasn’t only weight issues that saw him struggle early in the fight, but because Kholmatov proved a very tough opponent.

“It was kind of hard, but that wasn’t due to me having a tough week; it was also down to his very good boxing IQ and good footwork, so I don’t want to take anything away from him,” Ford said.

“I couldn’t find my timing early on; I couldn’t find my distance either, so that was another reason why I had to step into the pocket a little bit and take the fight to him. I couldn’t get my timing down, and my feet felt like they were trapped in quicksand.”

Shakur Stevenson ‘Proud’

Ford, a decorated amateur and former Golden Gloves champion, has benefited from some fine mentorship during the early stages of his career, including from WBC lightweight Shakur Stevenson and unified middleweight champion Terence Crawford.

Ford revealed that one of the first calls he received after winning the world title was from Stevenson, who also posted a tribute to Ford on Instagram by writing: “Proud is a understatement, Grind together shine together Lead the pack but make room for the next generation.”

Ford added: “He is my brother. He has been in my corner since the amateurs. I have been with him in my camp for the last three or four fights.

“I have been at his house doing my camps with him, and he has been in my corner with me this whole journey. I know I made him proud, so seeing my transition from the amateurs into the pros and constantly getting better over time, I know he is genuinely happy for me.”

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