Felix Cash, Danny Dignum and William Webber were also victorious.
Friday 1 September 2017 23:31, UK
Jake Ball outpointed Joe Sherriff in a thrilling English title eliminator shootout while Ted Cheeseman won in somewhat strange circumstances at London's York Hall.
Ball, nicknamed 'The Blade', made a brisk start but quickly returned to his heavy-handed relentless approach to get two knockdowns on his way to a 97-94 points win to move a step close to an English light-heavyweight title shot.
The 24-year-old effectively worked away in the opener behind his jab, using slick footwork to land some swift combinations, but nothing significantly hurt the previously unbeaten Sherriff.
In the second though, the fight quickly gathered pace and it was the Coventry southpaw soon in huge trouble as a punishing left body shot from Ball sent him down to his knees, wincing in the corner.
'The Blade' then went on the attack, sensing an early finish and a barrage of punches forced the ref to step in with a standing count.
Again Sherriff survived and seemed to regain his senses as he came out for the third where both fighters went toe-to-toe in a barnstorming round.
Despite his early success, Ball was pegged back by Sherriff who managed to get himself back on terms in some evenly contested mid-rounds.
In the eighth, Sherriff perhaps had his best round of the fight as Ball started to appear fatigued and a huge left and right flung the head of 'The Blade' back over the ropes.
Ball had never previously been past the sixth round and it became increasingly noticeable as the fight neared its finale, Sherriff the one starting to take over.
In a ding-dong affair, Ball found a second wind and finished strongly before having his hand raised.
English super-welterweight champion Ted Cheeseman took little time to defeat Italian Francesco Lezzi, albeit in bizarre fashion, as he extended his record to 10-0.
'The Big Cheese' immediately went on the front foot, peppering Lezzi with the left jab and using his quick feet to find range and send in some punishing right hands to the body.
In the second, a straight right through the middle of the Italian's guard dropped Lezzi to the canvas and despite an onslaught of heavy right hands finding the target, he managed to stay on his feet to hear the bell.
The finish came in the next as Lezzi, who spent most of the fight complaining, was disqualified for pushing the referee.
After the fight Cheeseman said: "He didn't come to fight, he was just looking for a way out in there.
"I wanted to entertain my fans and put in a good performance for my fans.
"I turned 22 last week, it's just about being patient, I'm excited for another step up as it will give me the motivation to really perform."
Earlier in the night, Felix Cash remained unbeaten as he notched up a fourth stoppage victory against Fernando Heredia, while Danny Dignum and William Webber also tasted victory.
