By Matt Bevan

Hard hitting light-heavyweight Jake Ball admits he has been forced to learn a valuable lesson after his shock defeat to JJ McDonagh last November, when he was stopped inside the first round at the Wembley Arena.

The 24-year-old was 7-0, with six stoppages, before running into a fired-up McDonagh, but he is now looking forward to returning to winning ways on Friday night at the iconic York Hall as a part of his promoter Eddie Hearn’s new NXTGEN series, live on Sky Sports.

‘The Blade’ said he was guilty of looking too far ahead in the early stages of his career and “took his eye off the ball”. He confirmed to Boxing Scene that it was a mistake he will not be making twice.

Ball said: “Losing last time out to JJ was a huge learning experience. I’ve come away knowing that I can’t look past my next fight and I’ve got to deal with what is in front of me first, before I can dwell on what may be in the future.

“I took my eye off the ball and rushed in, which obviously backfired in the worst possible way. I’d had a series of quick stoppages and that was a big issue with JJ, as everyone else I had caught had gone over.

“I caught him and he didn’t go anywhere, so I rushed in rather than sticking to my boxing. It was my mistake and I’ve learned so much from it. This camp has been 100 per cent focused on this fight and I haven't even considered what will come next. All I care about is winning on Friday and then staying active.”

It’s an admirable attitude from Ball, who is trained by Jim McDonnell in what is a thriving gym alongside James DeGale and top prospect Reece Bellotti, who headlines Friday’s action in a British title eliminator at featherweight against Dai Davies.

No opponent has been officially confirmed for the World Combat Games silver medallist, where he was defeated in the final by current interim WBA title holder Dmitry Bivol, but he tells ‘Scene that it will be a durable opponent who will give him some rounds.

Ball knows that a couple of wins will get him back on the big arena cards that Matchroom put on, but isn’t concerned with fighting on them now, as he turns his attention to picking up some wins and is comfortable knowing that his time will come.

“It’s a new format on the best platform in Sky Sports and it’s great to be a part of it, although it doesn't matter to me whether it’s in the big arenas or the small hall circuit, I’m only interested in winning and fighting regularly.

“I’ve got a great team around me in Jim and Eddie Hearn, so my career is in quality hands who know what they are doing. I’m in a fantastic division and I know my time will come. Boxing is a waiting game and I know that I’ll get to the top in due course.

“I know that I have an opponent but I don’t personally know who it is. No English opponent would take the fight so they had to go abroad to get him. He’s tough apparently so I should get some rounds in. I’m really looking forward to getting back in there and picking up a win to get myself back on track.”