Worcester super middleweight Kendrick Ball Jr. vies for vacant belt on Saturday night

WORCESTER — Kendrick “Peppa” Ball Jr. is a big fan of Thanksgiving dinner, especially the yams and baked mac and cheese his mom and grandmothers typically prepare for the annual holiday feast.

However, the 29-year-old super middleweight champion from Worcester will hold off on pulling up to the table Thursday afternoon with a title fight looming Saturday night. The wait is all about (making) weight.

“I’d say for this fight it’s worth it,” the soft-spoken and always amiable Ball said last week during a pre-fight promotional event at Lock 50 Restaurant & Café.

“And I’m kind of used to it because as an amateur I always had to fight after Thanksgiving, so I could never really enjoy (dinner). So it really doesn’t bother me as much.”

In what is the latest biggest fight of his professional career, Ball (17-1-1, 11 KOs) will square off against Mike Guy (12-7-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder for the vacant WBC USNBC super middleweight championship two days after Turkey Day at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

The Ball-Guy bout is the main event on a nine-fight card dubbed Holiday Bash 2021 that is loaded with enticing matchups and put together by Providence-based CES Boxing.

“This is one of the biggest fights for a Worcester fighter in a long, long, long time,” said Jimmy Burchfield, who is Ball’s promotor and CES’s president. “Kendrick won one WBC belt; this one he’s fighting for — 10 rounds, main event — is a real stepping stone.

“Everyone knows his name; everyone knows who he is. He’s become one of the most popular fighters ever from Worcester.”

Aiming to extend winning streak

This will be the third fight in eight months for Ball, a 2010 graduate of Worcester Tech and a union laborer for Local 243. He’s seeking his ninth straight victory.

Ball was crowned the WBC USNBC Silver champion with a unanimous decision over Bryan “The Warrior” Vera of Texas in April.

He successfully defended his title with another eight-round unanimous decision in August, this time handing Tyi Edmonds of Mississippi his second loss in 20 bouts.

“It’s a big fight,” Ball said. “I’m looking at it as my toughest fight. I just have to be smart, stay relaxed and box and move like I did with Bryan Vera.”

While Guy, who was raised in Los Angeles and resides in Sacramento, has a modest record, comes in having lost his last three matches, is 40 years old, and will give four inches to the 6-foot-2 Ball, he should not be underestimated.

For starters, Guy is ranked 14th in the United States and 54th in the 168-pound weight class. (Ball is 34th and 128th.). And while he’s 3-4 in his last seven bouts, the combined record of his opponents is an astonishing 139-18.

Guy provides good matchup at this time

“He’s an experienced guy, a veteran, a journeyman,” said Kendrick Ball Sr., who trains his son out of Camp Get Right, the boxing gym he owns on Millbrook Street.

“I think this is a good step up for us to let us know where we’re at. We’ve been moving up pretty good, and I think this is a good test fight for us.”

This is Ball’s first 10-rounder, and he’s prepared to go the distance if necessary. To that end, he’s been putting in the distance, running seven miles at a swift clip of 7 minutes, 25 seconds per mile three times a week.

As for his work in the ring, Ball has focused on using his height and length advantage to keep his distance while landing blows with his jab and staying on his toes because Guy is known as someone who wants to tangle in close quarters.

“Don’t let him get to me because that’s what he wants,” Ball said. “He’s going to put pressure on, so I just have to keep him at bay. He’s going to be swinging wild because he’s short, so I just have to be alert of those overhands.

“I trained for it, so I’m ready. If I have to go 10, I’m ready for the 10. If I have to take him out early, I’m ready for that, too.”

Tickets for Holiday Bash 2021, which gets underway at 7 p.m., begin at $50 and can be purchased at cesfights.com.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester, Kendrick Ball Jr., super middleweight, Mass-Mutual Center, Springfield, Mike Guy