"British boxing is booming."
It's something we've been told constantly for a decade or more, with stars from Carl Froch, George Groves and Anthony Joshua filling stadiums, up to and including the 2025 blockbuster between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn.
The gate receipts alone make it difficult to argue but, when it comes to the hard currency of world titles, WBA featherweight king Nick Ball is the last man standing.
Daniel Dubois' defeat to Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley last month (yep, another sold-out show at the national stadium) left Liverpudlian Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) as his country's only reigning male world champion.
It means the 28-year-old must preserve a flame that has either flickered or burned brightly for 37 years when he takes on Sam Goodman on Saturday night in Riyadh.
Since 1987, the UK has had at least one male fighter holding a version of a full WBA, IBA, IBF or WBO world title.
Given the never-ending battle for sporting bragging rights between Britain and Australia, you sense that Goodman ending this proud record would be received with particular relish in his homeland.
Nick Ball vs. Sam Goodman odds, betting tips and prediction
All odds correct at time of publish with firms listed
Per Paddy Power, Ball is an odds-on 1/5 favourite, with Goodman priced at 7/2. You can get the draw at 16/1.
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A clash between two undefeated boxers in their fighting prime certainly fits the billing for a world title showdown. As such, the discrepancy in the betting odds looks unusual at first glance.
The prime reason for this is the fact Goodman has operated for the vast majority of his career at super bantamweight, where his previous booking for a world title shot against the great Naoya Inoue fell through.
The 26-year-old is fighting at the elite level at 126 pounds for the first time and against a man who is brutally strong at the weight. Ball's mini-Mike Tyson label comes not from a fearsome knockout record — his stoppage haul is strong but not of, say, the Inoue variety — but his relentless, threshing-machine style. Three-minute rounds and the championship distance is a long time against the Scouser.
Any opponent hoping to derail Ball must have sufficient power to dissuade him. Goodman's moderate record of eight stoppages at a lower weight category do not offer compelling evidence of this.
While Ball lacks one-punch knockout power, his successful world title defences against Ronny Rios and TJ Doheny have comes after 10 rounds. Both men had success early but were eventually ground down. Expect him to take care of business a touch quicker this time around.
The experienced Doheny's attempts to goad Ball resulted in the champion taking a kick at him and flirting with disqualification. Goodman might look to prey on his temperament, but it feels more likely that was a one-off flashpoint that Ball is not foolish enough to repeat.
TSN Prediction: Ball TKO 10 (10/1, Paddy Power)
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