M&S BANK ARENA, LIVERPOOL -- Nick Ball survived a controversial flashpoint at the end of round one, before producing a dominant second defence of his WBA featherweight world title against TJ Doheny on another triumphant Merseyside return.

The six-fight main card was televised on TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and DAZN worldwide.

Doheny's manager Mike Altamura knew all about Ball's crafty, skilful tendencies but warned the home fighter against "rushing through the door" against his man. Ball, as he so often does, took his time and that sustained pressure is more damaging than a one-shot knockout would be for a man who at 38, has some tough decisions ahead.

Buoyed by a competitive display away in Japan against undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) last time out, Australia-based Irishman Doheny entered the lion's den believing he still had plenty more to give.

If his back spasms gave way to a contest bubbling nicely in Tokyo, it was an even more delicate part of his body that quickly became an easy target for Ball to pierce through here.

Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs), ten years his junior, stalked him around the ring as the wily veteran played possum and looked to counter while frustrating him too, through varied attacks towards head-and-body while holding his own in their exchanges.

Ball connected on a right-left combination twice early, Doheny (26-6, 20 KOs) flicking out his own jab in response as the defending titleholder smiled after absorbing a combo. That almost woke him up, content to trade when the moment allowed.

Some rough-housing in the pocket felt inevitable, though disaster almost struck early for a fan favourite on a unification mission at 126-pounds in 2025.

You couldn't help but wonder whether the 38-year-old challenger suffered a freak injury, all of his own doing after a bizarre sequence to finish the first round where he held Ball in a headlock after the bell and got a kick for his troubles afterwards.

Limping on one foot and spitting his mouthguard out as he sat down in the corner, this mini-crisis was soon averted as the official gave both a talking to before round two began. Many felt the transgression was bad enough to warrant an immediate disqualification, but everything happened so quickly that was an unrealistic outcome.

Doheny pitched a better third, stabbing to the body and teeing off with combinations to pierce the high guard. He might've stolen the stanza on the judges' scorecards before Ball responded angrily, suddenly applying more spite and speed to his work in the final half-minute to wobble the veteran backwards.

That trend continued in the fourth, though Ball was clearly starting to find his striking rhythm in the fifth with cleaner work landing flush and Doheny being forced to box at the champion's pace - a hellacious one.

Doheny gave some spite of his own early in the sixth, having absorbed a trademark power flurry against the ropes, before being floored by a cuffing wrestling-type takedown prompting Ball to be lectured by referee Michael Alexander once more.

By the round's conclusion though, you couldn't help thinking it was only a matter of time before Doheny would surrender to the barrage. His right eye was an ever-growing mess, the challenger found himself pinged at range by stinging uppercuts and whenever opening up to throw combos, was being hurt twice as badly.

A straight left hand midway through the seventh just magnified Doheny's eye issue, as some onlookers wondered aloud whether this was close to being stopped.

Doheny had to be lifted off his stool by one of his corner team for the ninth and again a round later, such was the bruising beatdown he was receiving.

Shortly afterwards, Ball was belatedly deducted a point shortly afterwards as he illegally floored him once more and the entry was overzealous.

Many rose to their feet at the start of the tenth, baying for the exclamation mark this one-sided display needed, though Doheny continued absorbing damage before being ticked off after a timely low blow midway through the round gave him respite.

Not for long, mind, as Ball unloaded a flurry of unanswered uppercuts to finish another one-sided stanza before it was compassionately waved off before round eleven began.

Queensberry chief Frank Warren declared his charge the world's best featherweight post-fight and hinted they'll be back among home comforts more in future after another excellent reception, five months removed from his first world title defence against the gamely Ronny Rios (34-5, 17 KOs) had the same result.

Featherweight: Nick Ball RTD10 (3:00) TJ Doheny

Super-flyweight: Jack Turner TKO2 (0:41) Ryan Farrag

Bantamweight: Andrew Cain SD12 (113-115, 115-114, 116-112) Charlie Edwards

Lightweight: Jadier Herrera TKO7 (2:31) Jose Macias Enriquez

Super-bantamweight: Ionut Baluta SD10 (93-97, 98-91, 96-94) Brad Strand

Middleweight: Stephen Clarke UD6 (60-54) Dmitri Protkunas

Junior-featherweight: Leighton Birchall TKO2 (1:55) Laszlo Bernath

Welterweight: Lucas Biswana UD4 (40-36) Ezequiel Gregores

Featherweight: William Birchall TKO2 (0:48) Engel Gomez

Junior-middleweight: Lewis Lawton KO1 (1:15) Artjom Spatar

Heavyweight: Joe Bourne DRAW (38-38) Cristian Uwaka