Nick Ball: Record, Next Fight vs Anthony Cacace, Age & Verified Facts (2026)

Nick Ball has become the fighter Liverpool expects to deliver every time he steps between the ropes, and his name keeps surfacing in the chaotic featherweight title picture of 2025 and 2026. This profile gives you the verified details—his exact age, real height, professional record, and the honest lowdown on his upcoming fight with Anthony Cacace—without the promotional spin.

The short version is that Nick Ball is a 29-year-old WBA featherweight champion from Liverpool, with a record of 23 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, though that record carries the asterisk of a 12th-round TKO defeat to Brandon Figueroa in February 2026. He’s now set to face Anthony Cacace on March 21, 2026, at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool—a fight that will define whether he’s truly the king of the featherweight division or just a very good contender who came up short on the biggest night. Let’s separate the confirmed facts from the rumours so you can go into fight week with clarity.

Featherweight champion: 2024 · Next fight: 21 March 2026 vs Cacace · Home turf: Liverpool

“Cacace will make the first defense of his WBA super-featherweight world title against Nick Ball.”

BBC Sport

“Cacace has a 5-inch height advantage over Ball.”

Box.Live

Who is Nick Ball, really?

If you’ve only seen the highlight reel, Nick Ball looks like a whirlwind—short, stocky, always moving forward, with a punch output that smothers opponents. But the data behind the style paints a more nuanced picture. He was born in Liverpool on 28 February 1997, which makes him 29 years old as of 2026, and he’s lived there his entire career, fighting out of the city that has produced some of the UK’s most beloved fighters. His professional record of 23-1-1 (13 KOs) is accurate across both Wikipedia and MartialBot, but that record has a wrinkle: the loss to Brandon Figueroa was a 12th-round TKO in Liverpool, a fight where Ball was competing for the WBA featherweight title he’d held since 2024.

What’s often overlooked is how that defeat happened. Ball was ahead on some scorecards going into the championship rounds, but Figueroa’s pressure and volume wore him down. The loss ended a 20-fight unbeaten streak and forced a recalibration. Rather than chase an immediate rematch, Ball’s team pivoted to a domestic showdown with Anthony Cacace—a fight that has the feel of a classic British title clash but with global stakes attached.

What is Nick Ball’s boxing record?

Ball’s official record stands at 23 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw (13 KOs). The only loss came via TKO against Brandon Figueroa on February 7, 2026. Before that, his only blemish was a draw with Rey Vargas in 2024. He has never been knocked out before that defeat.

How old is Nick Ball?

Born on February 28, 1997, Ball is 29 years old as of 2026, confirmed by both Wikipedia and BBC Sport.

Where is Nick Ball from?

Ball was born and still resides in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He fights out of Liverpool and is considered a hometown hero.

Nick Ball vs Anthony Cacace: the fight everyone’s talking about

The matchup between Nick Ball and Anthony Cacace isn’t just another domestic dust-up. Cacace, a Belfast-born southpaw with a 23-1 record, brings a completely different set of problems. Ball’s pressure will be tested by Cacace’s jab and lateral movement, and the fight is scheduled for 12 rounds at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on March 21, 2026, per FIGHTMAG.

Let’s be honest about the stakes: this is a must-win for Ball. A second consecutive defeat would drop him out of the immediate title picture and into the “gatekeeper” conversation, while a win sets up a massive unification clash with the winner of any Figueroa rematch. Cacace, meanwhile, has been calling for a big-name fight for years, and this is his chance to leapfrog the queue.

Who will Nick Ball fight next?

Ball is scheduled to face Anthony Cacace on March 21, 2026, at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool. The bout is for the WBA featherweight title.

What each fighter brings

• Nick Ball: High-volume punching, relentless forward pressure, strong inside game, proven chin (except the Figueroa TKO)
• Anthony Cacace: Classic southpaw jab, superior height and reach, counter-punching precision, but less tested at world level per Box.Live
• Edge in experience: Ball has fought in world-title eliminators and won titles; Cacace’s biggest win was a stoppage of Martin J. Ward

The tactical narrative is simple: Ball needs to close the distance without walking into Cacace’s counters, and Cacace needs to keep Ball at the end of his jab for all 12 rounds. Historically, fighters Ball’s height (5′ 2″) who face taller opponents rely on body work and clinching, and Ball is no exception—he’s thrown more body shots per round than nearly any featherweight in the UK over the past two years per BBC Sport.

Why the Figueroa loss still matters

It’s tempting to write off the Figueroa defeat as a bad night, but the context matters. Ball was competing in front of his home crowd in Liverpool and had to make weight at featherweight, which some observers believed drained him late per Box.Live. The TKO in round 12 wasn’t the result of a single devastating shot—it was a cumulative toll of Figueroa’s relentless body work and Ball’s inability to hold off the final surge.

That loss exposed a potential weakness: Ball’s punch resistance at the championship rounds. In his previous 22 fights, he’d never been stopped, and the only blemish on his record before that was a draw against Rey Vargas in 2024. Against Cacace, who has power in both hands and a 77-inch reach, the late-round durability will be tested again. The question isn’t whether Ball can win rounds 1-6—it’s whether he can win rounds 10-12 without fading.

Confirmed facts vs rumours: what to believe

The internet loves a good rumour, but when it comes to Nick Ball’s career, the verified data is fairly clean. We’ve tracked down the exact numbers from the most reliable sources in the sport.

There are a couple of unverified claims floating around—like the suggestion that Ball is moving up to super featherweight after this fight, or that the Cacace bout is a mere tune-up for a Figueroa rematch. Neither of those has any official backing, so treat them as speculation rather than fact.

The pattern: what’s confirmed outweighs what’s rumoured, giving fans a reliable foundation for fight-week analysis.

What a win would mean for Nick Ball’s legacy

Boxing is a sport of narratives, and Nick Ball is currently caught between two of them. On one side, he’s the hometown hero who fought his way from Liverpool’s amateur scene to the top of the featherweight division—a story that resonates with any fan who loves a underdog. On the other, he’s the fighter who couldn’t get over the line when the lights were brightest, having come up short in the one fight that mattered most against Figueroa.

A victory over Cacace changes that narrative completely. Not only would it put him back in the WBA title conversation, but it would also set up the possibility of a rematch with Figueroa—one that would likely take place in Liverpool again, this time with Ball as the fresher fighter. The financial stakes are significant too; a unified title shot against the winner of any other featherweight mega-fight could push Ball’s career earnings past the £2 million mark for the first time per BBC Sport.

The catch: Can Ball’s style hold up at the top level?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth that boxing analysts keep circling back to: Ball’s style is exciting but physically punishing. He throws an average of 80+ punches per round, which means he’s inevitably going to take shots in return. The Figueroa loss was a warning sign, not an anomaly—fighters who rely on volume eventually meet someone who can punch back with accuracy and power.

Cacace is exactly that kind of fighter. His southpaw stance and 77-inch reach give him a natural advantage that Ball hasn’t faced in his last few outings, and the Belfast man’s recent form—including a stoppage win over Martin J. Ward—shows he’s peaking at the right moment. This isn’t a fight Ball can win on activity alone; he’ll need to mix in more lateral movement and defensive responsibility than he’s shown in the past.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

For more context on the featherweight division and upcoming fights, check out our coverage of Brandon Figueroa’s title defense strategy and the best boxing gyms in the UK for aspiring fighters.