Nick Ball retained his status as Britain’s only male world champion in a tough win over resolute Sam Goodman.Ball was defending his WBA featherweight title against Australian challenger Goodman on the undercard of Moses Itauma’s high-profile tilt with Dillian Whyte in the Middle East.Ball was the victor, but many believed the fight to be much closer than judges sawThe Liverpudlian, who has often been branded a ‘mini’ version of ferocious punching legend Mike Tyson, was favourite to defend his belt against Goodman.His rival finally got his shot at a new weight having previously missed out on a showdown with undisputed super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue after suffering injuries.The boxing community has become accustomed to pure aggression and ferocious-hitting action from ‘The Wrecking Ball’ in his fights to date.Ball was the UK’s only male boxing world champion, and there was a threat that Britain could find itself without a world champion for the first time since Terry Marsh lost his belt in December 1987.It was a period of three months that the UK didn’t possess a world champion, as Lloyd Honeyghan regained his belt three months later in March 1998.But fortunately, it was Ball who was able to retain his belt despite a really difficult and razor-close fight with fine margins.The judges scorecards were surprisingly wide and the tallies read at 117-111, 118-110, 115-113 in favour of Ball, who won by unanimous decision.Many in the boxing community felt it was much closer, but ultimately Ball prevented heartache for the UK and retained his belt.Ball admitted after the narrow win: “It was good but it wasn’t the best performance but we got the job done.“I think I got into it a bit too much, but the main thing is that everyone is enjoying what they are watching.”Goodman far from rolled over and had real success on the nightLeigh Dawney / QueensberryWhen asked what is next, he said: “I want to keep fighting and improving and being in with the big names.“It’s not just a special fight, it is a special trip whenever I come here. It is like a second home here.”Why was Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman so close?Ball was currently the UK’s only male world champion going into the bout and was under pressure against an undefeated challenger from Down Under.Goodman and Ball were tailor-made on paper for a brutal all-action war given they both possess seriously aggressive styles.The fight started off at an electric pace with the champion once again looking to find the mark, but Goodman didn’t back off at all and the pair traded well.Sharp feet and crisp shots were hitting the mark from Goodman, who was settling into the contest and providing a real challenge for Ball early on with a quarter of the fight gone.It was a title fight living up to the pre-fight billing with the Aussie proving to be a tricky customer for Ball to impose himself upon and close the gap.Ball ultimately did enough to get the job doneLeigh Dawney/QueensberryGoodman looked the slightly neater and more accurate of the two going beyond the midway point, with the stanzas difficult to score.Ball was looking to push the pace but Goodman played his role as the villain and underdog well, executing his game plan on the back foot.The clock was ticking and the Liverpudlian was none the wiser as to if he would be losing his title, with Goodman delivering a sensational performance to match the champion.As the final championship round approached, there was very little to separate the pair but Ball had done well to try and turn the tide with heavier output late on.Blood trickled from the right eye of Ball late on, a real sign of just how brutal the war of attrition was on both brave fighters.Ultimately, Ball got the job done and got over the line, but he too admitted he was far from his best.