ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Ray Ford hated confinement.

Being told what to do, when to do it, how to do it – every restriction incarceration entails. Those were Ford’s unfortunate circumstances 10 years ago, when he served a one-year sentence on assault and robbery convictions.

Ford, then 16, promised himself, and his mom, Pamela, that he would never return to a place like Saint Gabriel’s Hall, a youth detention and rehabilitation facility in Philadelphia.

“When I was there, I felt like I was the one that stood out, kinda,” Ford told The Ring in advance of his fight against Thomas Mattice on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall. “I felt like I was the one that wasn’t gonna come back, which I didn’t. I was the one that like took heed when we had our group talks. I was the one sitting and actually listening, not like playing around and things like that.”

A refocused Ford knew boxing would be his way to a better life than he experienced growing up in crime-ridden Camden, New Jersey, and later across the Delaware River in Philadelphia. He realized he had to pay his debt to society, but once he was released in August 2015 Ford’s life became about repaying his mom and others that believed in him.

“I would always tell my peers, like once I get outta here, I’m never gonna come back,” Ford recalled. “I’m never gonna be in this position, this situation. I’m gonna go to the gym and I’m gonna become big in boxing. I used to tell that to a lotta my peers. They hit me up, still to this day, and say, ‘You really did what you said you was gonna do.’ ”

Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) achieved his dream of becoming a world champion in unforgettable fashion 13 months ago at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Down on two scorecards and cut badly beneath his left eye, the stubborn southpaw rallied late in the 12th round and stopped previously unbeaten Uzbek Otabek Kholmatov (12-1, 11 KOs) with seven seconds remaining in their fantastic fight for the WBA featherweight title.

The Ring recognized Ford-Kholmatov as its “Fight of the Year” for 2024. Ford felt a world away from Saint Gabriel’s Hall on January 11, when he was recognized for his achievement at The Ring’s inaugural awards gala in London.

“I think I definitely showed people I was a dog,” Ford said of his dramatic victory over Kholmatov. “I feel like a lotta people, they just felt like I was a good boxer and can’t really fight on the inside, things like that. But, you know, with that fight I showed that I can change styles and fight different ways in order to get the W.

“So, you know, when people see me fight they’re gonna know I’m coming to fight. I’m not coming to lose at all, no matter who it is against. My main focus is to win every fight. It don’t matter if I’m down 10 rounds, I’m still gonna, you know, try to come out on top.”

The 26-year-old Ford lost his WBA 126-pound crown to England’s Nick Ball by split decision in his following fight. Ford felt he should move up to the junior lightweight division after he stopped Kholmatov, but he was offered a career-high purse to battle Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) on the Deontay Wilder-Zhilei Zhang undercard last June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He’ll compete as a full-fledged 130-pound contender for the second time when he meets Mattice on the Jaron Ennis-Eimantas Stanionis undercard. Cleveland’s Mattice is 34, but he gave eventual WBA super lightweight champ Isaac Cruz a difficult fight five years ago at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and has never been knocked out.

Ford is a 14-1 favorite according to DraftKings, He still realizes Mattice (22-4-1, 17 KOs) will treat their 10-round co-feature as perhaps his last opportunity at making a run at his own title shot.

“He’s a tough fighter, very durable,” Ford said. “You know, kinda big for the weight class, rangy, look like he got some power. I know he’s a decent fighter.”