Bombs away as Ball faces big hitter Jamie

Face to face…Ball (left) and Robinson before the fireworks are lit

BIRMINGHAM and Black Country fans will be torn tomorrow night (Saturday), with two major – and mouth-watering – title fights in the offing.

The potential powder-keg that is Sam Eggington’s clash with KO artist Joe Pigford, in Bournemouth, has grabbed the headlines.

But Danny Ball’s battle with Jamie Robinson for the vacant English welterweight title, at Manchester Arena, promises to be an equally exciting tussle. Both carry real power. There will be fireworks. The major Matchroom show is streamed on DAZN.

For Kingswinford’s Danny, a former British title challenger, patience has been rewarded. He was to have faced Anthony Tomlinson for the belt on home turf.

But a hand injury to the Sheffield boxer scuppered the March 17 Dudley Town Hall date. Robinson, from Harlow,  now based in Derbyshire, has stepped into the breach.

And, for the paying public, the clash is a much more enticing proposition.

Local fight fans know what 31-year-old Jamie can do. Last month he became the first fighter to halt Digbeth’s Ben Fields, a hardman with a seam of granite running through his jaw. Ben was iced in the third with a peach of a right hand.

Robinson has also lost on a split decision in an English title bid down at light-welter (10st). In all, he’s won 15, lost five and drawn two.

Those who yearn for a Cinderella story will be rooting for Robinson: he’s overcome cancer and proved medics, who said he’d never fight again, wrong.

Cinderella stories seldom happen in boxing, however – and, in Ball, Jamie faces a quality operator with ferocious power.

I first sat up and took notice of Ball after he uncorked a wrecking ball left hook to separate journeyman Kevin McCauley from his senses. Many have beaten Kevin on points, few – very few – have dismissed him the way Danny did.

Ball proved his worth by drawing with Birmingham star Kaisee Benjamin, with the Midlands title on the line, in the Birmingham man’s backyard. Many felt Danny deserved to have his hand raised after the 2019 Villa Park contest.

And Danny’s three round wipe-out of respected Mason Cartwright – again, in the other fellow’s home turf of Ellesmere Port – proved he was a top contender.

The points win over Sam Gilley – yet another away from home – was probably Danny’s most complete performance to date. Gilley was unbeaten in 11 going into the contest, heavily favoured, yet dominated by the Black Country boxer.

And that, I feel, is a decisive result when assessing tomorrow’s battle. I could not see Robinson doing the same to Gilley, who has remained undefeated since losing to Danny and is now 15-1.

There are new factors to consider. Ball is huge at welter and grinding his long body down to 10-and-a-half stone must be arduous.

And the demolition of Fields will have given Robinson all the self-belief he needs.

But make no mistake: Ball is not an overblown boxer with a statistically impressive record bloated by easy opposition. He’s paid his dues, shown his mettle and is a merciless finisher.

He’s the real McCoy.

The one loss on his 14 bout record came at the highest level and in Danny’s biggest bout to date. It was a painful setback, to boot.

With the British, Commonwealth and lesser version of the European title on the line, Lonsdale Belt holder Ekow Essuman proved too much. He was not dented by the famed Ball firepower, imposed himself on the contest and ended matters in the sixth.

Ball – blood spilling from his open mouth – was forced to sit out the count, his jaw badly broken in two places.

I know BCB, who guide Ball, were supremely confident going into that one, some even appeared to feel victory was assured. That, in all honesty, surprised me: Essuman is a handful. He’s rough, tough, ready and very able.

There have been two innocuous ring returns since that 2021 loss, both against men with a lot more losses than wins.

In a previous interview, Danny said: “I thought that I did well against Ekow, but then I got injured and it was stopped. Looking back, I felt a bit too comfortable going into that.

“We had sparred before and I believed that I had all of the answers. I wasn’t nervous, at all, going in there and perhaps I needed to be.

“When I put pressure on myself, it makes me hungry to perform better and I’ll be looking to harness that nervous energy this time. I’m going to show why I deserve to be a champion.”

My money’s on Ball. And he has the tools to finish the job in the eighth or ninth.

But if he’s not at the races or drained at the weight, Robinson will make him pay.