Middleweight prospect Ball returns for eighth bout in 11 months against unbeaten Air Force vet Chris

StartFragmentPROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 17th, 2017) -- Fighting for the eighth time since making his professional debut in May, middleweight Kendrick Ball Jr. of Worcester, Mass., returns to Twin River Casino next month in another intriguing battle of unbeatens.

Ball Jr. (5-0-2, 4 KOs) puts his undefeated record on the line Friday, April 7th, 2017 against Cranston, R.I., native and nearby Warwick resident Zachary Christy (1-0-1), a decorated U.S. Air Force vet who fights for the first time since September of 2014.

The six-round Ball Jr.-Christy bout highlights the undercard of CES Boxing's World Boxing Council U.S. National Boxing Council (WBC USNBC) Welterweight Championship main event between Nick DeLomba (11-1, 2 KOs) and Jimmy Williams (12-0-1, 5 KOs).

The always-ready Ball Jr. faces his third undefeated opponent; he battled Connecticut's 5-0 David Wilson to a draw in July and later fought to a draw against 9-0-1 Nathan Millier in December. Last month, Ball scored his fifth win as a pro and fourth career knockout in just 29 seconds against last-minute replacement Patrick Leal when his original opponent, Kenneth Glenn, withdrew due to injury.

A staff sergeant for the U.S. Air Force for nearly a decade, Christy, 31, fought sporadically as an amateur due to his military travels, which included multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait. While stationed in Tampa, Fla., Christy briefly trained at the St. Pete Boxing Club under Dan Birmingham, who helped guide Winky Wright and Keith Thurman to world titles.

The Cranston native began his boxing career in Rhode Island at the age of 15 under the guidance of the late Tiny Ricci.

Tickets for April 7th are priced at $47.00, $102.00, $127.00 (VIP) and $152.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com or www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

In addition to the highly-anticipated championship main event, April 7th features an eight-round female welterweight showdown between Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (16-4-2, 1 KO) of Marshfield, Mass., and Mexican challenger Paty Ramirez (11-3, 5 KOs), plus a New England Lightweight Title bout between Springfield, Mass., vet Zack Ramsey (7-1, 3 KOs) and unbeaten Augusta, Ga., native Divante Jones (9-0, 6 KOs).

Unbeaten New Bedford, Mass., junior middleweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (7-0, 1 KO) faces his toughest test to date in the six-round co-feature bout against Portland, Maine native Casey Kramlich (6-0-1, 3 KOs) in Kramlich's Twin River debut.

The DeLomba-Williams title bout marks a historic anniversary for CES Boxing, which, in addition to celebrating its 25th year in boxing, hosts a USNBC championship bout 12 years after being the first promoter to do so in 2005 when Joey Spina defeated Carl Daniels in Providence.

The 27-year-old DeLomba, a Cranston native, has won his last three bouts since suffering his first and only loss in 2015, while New Haven, Conn., vet Williams, 30, originally from Plainfield, N.J., has only one blemish on his record, a draw against Greg Jackson in 2013. He's won his last eight, including knockouts against Christian Lao and Eddie Caminero and a hard-fought unanimous decision win over veteran Manny Woods at Twin River in May.

Joining Aleksandra Lopes on April 7th is her stepson, Arturo Lopes (1-0), who ends an eight-year layoff in his return bout against Taunton, Mass., welterweight Marqus Bates (1-1, 1 KO). The Lopeses fight April 7th in honor of the late Manny Lopes, a former CES standout who passed away in December and will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor.

Worcester, Mass., lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (3-0, 2 KOs), fresh off a hard-fought win over unbeaten Canton Miller in February, faces another undefeated challenger in a four-round bout against Glenn Mitchell (2-0, 2 KOs) of Steubenville, Ohio, and Lynn, Mass., welterweight Khiry Todd (2-0, 2 KOs) battles Philadelphia's Vincent Floyd (2-2-1) in a four-round bout.

Junior welterweight Jonathan Figueroa (2-0, 1 KO) of Hartford, Conn., returns to Twin River to face Springfield's Miguel Ortiz (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-round showdown between two rising New England prospects and amateur standouts Ricky Delossantos of Providence, R.I., and Philip Davis of Worcester make their professional debuts against one another in a four-round super featherweight bout.

Junior welterweight Cristobal Marrero (3-0, 2 KOs) of New London, Conn., by way of Worcester, returns for the first time since December in a four-round bout against New York's Sidney Maccow (4-4, 3 KOs).

Visit www.cesboxing.com, www.twitter.com/cesboxing or www.facebook.com/cesboxing for more information, or follow CES Boxing on Instagram at @CESBOXING.

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