Figueroa, 29, lived as much as his moniker, ‘Heartbreaker’, on a deflating and sorrowful night time for ‘Wrecking’ Ball and the Liverpool crowd.

The challenger was met by a refrain of jeers on his ring stroll, the 7,500-capacity enviornment near full and firmly partisan. Figueroa blew kisses to his family members and stood calmly in his nook because the noise swelled for Ball.

The Kirkby-born fighter was given a correct hometown reception. From John Conteh to Natasha Jonas, Liverpool has by no means been shy of manufacturing world champions, and Ball is the most recent to have carried on that proud custom.

The competition started at a frantic tempo. Ball threw 145 punches throughout the opening three rounds – together with sharp uppercuts within the first and second – with Figueroa throwing 204 occasions.

At simply 5ft 2in, Ball conceded seven inches in top however dismissed the concept was an obstacle beforehand, insisting he most popular “punching up” at taller opponents.

As blood trickled from the champion’s nostril and reddened his mouth, Figueroa continued to press and appeared the brisker man on the midway mark.

Ball responded with a blistering flurry within the eighth. Figueroa winced, smiled and fired again to the physique. With some tight rounds, the battle felt finely poised and destined to go to the scorecards.

“Championship rounds. That is your territory now,” Ball’s nook advised him.

There was nervousness within the enviornment, however no one predicted such an abrupt ending.

With Ball scrambling on the ground after the preliminary left, he admirably rose on the depend of 9.

However Figueroa sensed the end and unloaded – a left-right-left mixture finishing the job for the Texan.

Through the melee that adopted the stoppage, Andrew Cain, a member of Ball’s staff who gained his personal battle on the undercard, appeared to goal a kick at one among Figueroa’s cornerman.

Tensions have been calmed shortly, and scorecards revealed the knockout was the icing on the cake for Figueroa, who was forward of two of the three scorecards on the time of the stoppage.