WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball retained his title Saturday night by repeatedly dropping, then stopping, a very game Ronny Rios. Although the 21-0-1 Ball dominated the fight, his nose got pretty busted up throughout the bout. "My nose always goes," he said afterward, "it's boxing, you're going to get a little nosebleed. It's what makes champions." Such a businesslike attitude certainly served Ball well as he impressed what was essentially his hometown crowd at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Not that Ball had much bad to say about the defeated challenger after the bout ended in the tenth round.

"That's what we train for," Ball said, "stuff like that, take them out. Hats off to him, he caught me with a few on my nose." Sure enough, the 34 year old Rios was nothing if not game. After a brutal early portion of the bout, the American fired back viciously on Ball. It wasn't enough, though. With only 17 KOs in a career spanning 39 fights, Rios just didn't have the firepower to hold off the aggressive defending champion. Due to strength, power and a potent game plan, Ball was simply a level above Rios in the ring on Saturday.

Although he isn't known as a power puncher himself, Ball was the picture of sharp aggression on Saturday, starting from the opening bell. Tossing off endless power shots, it almost seemed like Ball would gas himself out. He didn't. In fact, he was able to drop Rios in the third as well as the seventh rounds. Rios got up on both occasions. Sure enough, the man was even able to get back on his feet after Ball literally knocked him through the ropes in the tenth. By that point, however, Rios' team had seen enough. They stopped the bout before their fighter took any more damage.

After the match had ended, Ball indicated that there was more to do at featherweight. "I've got one of four belts," he said, "and it would be nice to get another one."