World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Raymond Ford will return to the ring on June 1 in Ryan, Saudi Arabia, to face Nick Ball in defense of his crown. 

The fight will be part of the main event of the evening in which Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev will fight for the undisputed light heavyweight championship in the main event. 

Ford comes from winning the title in a tough fight last March 2 against Otabek Kholmatov, in Verona. The American went from strength to strength and scored a knockout in the final round in dramatic fashion to be the star of one of the fights of the year so far. 

The 25-year-old southpaw will be looking to make his first defense against another tough opponent but now feels the confidence of being the monarch and wants to prove he can be a solid champion. 

Ball is coming off a world title fight against Rey Vargas, which ended in a draw on March 8. After not being able to materialize his intention to be champion, now he has this opportunity and he wants to take advantage of it. 

Ford has 15 wins, no losses, 1 draw and 8 knockouts, while Ball has 19 wins, no losses, 1 draw and 11 knockouts.