Nick Ball will carry the momentum from a busy and banner 2024 campaign into next year with the second defense of his WBA featherweight title when he takes on TJ Doheny on March 15 in a homecoming fight.

Ball (20-0-1, 12 KOs) vs. Doheny (26-5, 20 KOs) will headline a Queensberry Promotions card and take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Ball, a 27-year-old born and bred in Liverpool, Merseyside, has had a standout five-month stretch this year. After a competitive clash against Rey Vargas for the WBC 126-pound title in March ended in a controversial split draw – despite Ball scoring two knockdowns of Vargas – Ball captured championship glory during his second world title shot when he beat Raymond Ford in an action-packed fight via split decision in June for the WBA belt he now holds. Ball went on to dominate Ronny Rios in October for a 10th-round TKO win, dropping Rios three times before his corner threw in the towel.

Ball is currently ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 126 pounds.

Doheny, a 36-year-old southpaw from Ireland, will get a surprise title shot after suffering a seventh-round stoppage loss to Naoya Inoue in September for the undisputed junior featherweight title. Doheny was forced to quit the fight due to a back injury. The former 122-pound IBF champion Doheny last fought at 126 pounds in 2022.

Doheny is ranked No. 7 by The Ring at 122 pounds.

The co-main event fight will feature a bantamweight battle between Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) and Charlie Edwards (20-1, 7 KOs).

Also set to be featured on the card are Brad Strand (12-1, 4 KOs) vs. Ionut Baluta (16-5-1, 3 KOs) in a junior featherweight fight.

Cuban junior lightweight Jadier Herrera (16-0, 14 KOs) and super flyweight Jack Turner ((10-0, 9 KOs) are also set to be featured in separate bouts against opponents still be be determined.

“This card is literally combustible,” said Queensberry Promotions head Frank Warren. “There is so much at stake in all the championship fights and every one of them has got all the makings of a cracker … We said that we wanted to re-establish Liverpool as a premier destination for the best of boxing and we mean what we say.”