The newly crowned WBC featherweight champion was hoping to get his hands on Ball (23-1-1, 13 KOs) and his WBA strap. After repeatedly calling for that fight, among bouts with other divisional beltholders, the Liverpudlian echoed an eagerness to unify and said a fight between them could happen at some stage this year.

However, Brandon Figueroa ripped up the script.

In the final round of their competitive clash, the Texan lived up to his "Heartbreaker" nickname and delivered a 12th-round stoppage upset of Ball at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena on Saturday night.

While he has since called for a stateside showdown against the PBC-backed champion, Carrington can't believe he saw one of his dream fights go up in flames.

"It definitely pissed me off a little bit," Carrington told The Ring hours after the outcome.

"The money was there for that fight and it would've been very fan-friendly."

Carrington, a year younger than both at 28, has doubled down on his hunt for unification bouts after earning some long-awaited leverage atop the featherweight division.

He grabbed the first belt of his career thanks to a ninth-round stoppage win over Carlos Castro on The Ring VI in New York's Madison Square Garden last month.

He insists he isn't avoiding WBO beltholder Rafael Espinoza, nor IBF champion Angelo Leo, though Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) believes the feeling isn't mutual.

Espinoza, The Ring's top-rated featherweight contender for its vacant title last held by Mikey Garcia in 2013, has been linked with a potential Leo unification after the 31-year-old's proposed Feb. 21 defense against Lerato Dlamini was shelved.

Regardless, Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) won't turn the other way when called out and doubled down when The Ring asked about a Carrington unification in the early hours Sunday.

Carrington hopes they can make a fight happen relatively soon.

"I'd love to fight him," he said. "I also think that Figueroa is the type that would fight me, this is our time to get it on."