The judges’ scorecards haven’t been kind to Abraham Nova of late.

Before getting back into the win column on June 7 with a third-round stoppage of German Ivan Meraz (65-72-3, 41 KOs), Nova (24-3-1, 17 KOs) was 0-2-1 in his previous three fights. The two defeats were a narrow split decision to WBC junior lightweight champion O’Shaquie Foster for his title and a unanimous decision to undefeated contender Andres Cortes (23-0, 12 KOs), who is ranked in the top 10 by the IBF, WBC and WBO.

Had Nova won the 12th round against Foster, the fight would have been scored a draw, giving him a strong claim for a rematch. Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) dropped Nova with less than 30 seconds left in the final round.

“Don't leave it to the hands of the judges,” Nova told The Ring of what he learned from his fights against Foster, Cortes and Galindo. “I try to change styles and do different things to see if that's what the judges like, and I gotta do my best and get them out of there. That's the biggest experience I've gotten from those fights. I can’t rely on those judges. I’ve got to rely on myself.”

Ford (17-1-1, 6 KOs) is ranked No. 4 by the IBF, WBA and WBC and No. 5 by the WBO at junior lightweight. Three of Ford’s last four victories have come by decision, with the lone stoppage coming in the waning moments in the 12th round of The Ring's Fight of the Year against Otabek Kholmatov in February 2024. The 26-year-old Camden, New Jersey, native’s last stoppage victory before the final round came in November 2022, when he halted Sakaria Lukas (26-3-1, 18 KOs) in the eighth round.

Nova’s last win in a fight that went the distance was a unanimous decision over Adam Lopez (17-6, 6 KOs) in January 2023.

The Puerto Rican is stepping in as a late replacement for former IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs), who withdrew because of a back injury. Despite previous attempts to make the fight vs. Ford falling through, Nova maintained belief this was bound to happen at some point. With his intuition proving to be correct, Nova believes there's only one reason why a fight with Ford has come to fruition.

“I have no doubt in myself,” Nova said. “I believe in myself. I know God works in mysterious ways.

“I knew I was going to fight Raymond Ford. I got the call a couple of months ago for short money, less money, less time, and I said, 'This fight is going to happen.' So that's why a lot of time was spent in the gym. I knew I was going to get that call. We got it, not the time that we wanted, but we’re going to make the most out of it and get the victory.”