Lewis Ritson (23-3) , at one point, was one of British boxing’s brightest talents following his rapid rise from the small hall circuit and winning the British lightweight title in dominating fashion. Ritson dethroned Robbie Barrett (who defeated Scott Cardle for the title) in 2017 before securing knockout wins against Joe Murray, Scott Cardle and Paul Hyland Jr, taking only five rounds to defend his title and win the Lord Lonsdale belt outright. Ritson would rise to a ring magazine ranking of seven and saw him heavily linked with a contest with Jorge Linares in late 2018.
However, a European title defeat to Francesco Patera, losing on a split decision, saw the wind removed from his sails before moving up to super-lightweight. Wins against Robbie Davies Jr, and Miguel Vazquez saw Ritson make an excellent start to life at 140lbs, but he was soon humbled by the big punching Jeremias Ponce in 2021, suffering a tenth-round stoppage defeat.
Lewis rebuilt himself with two back-to-back wins before facing Ohara Davies last weekend in his hometown of Newcastle. However, Davies produced a career-best performance against a lacklustre Ritson, who was outfought and outgunned in a WBA super-lightweight final eliminator. Davies claimed victory with a left hook in the ninth round, which floored Ritson on the canvas for some time and required medical attention.
Lewis, however, has vowed to fight on and feels he has more fights left in him and looking to continue his career in whatever guise it may take. Ritson also feels that boxing at home puts pressure on him, and he is seeking to box away free from the Newcastle arena via social media.
“Just want to say a massive thank you for the support and messages from last night
from being a young lad for strange reason are not I’ve always taken pride in being the toughest man in the room and 99% a have been, so to be flattened in front of personal friends and family is hard to take massively.
“In boxing, I’ve only ever been beaten for the European title and two world title final eliminators, 14 fights live on tv and done pretty well, 6/7 years been bringing the big shows up the northeast, but family time always catches up 21 years in boxing now.
“Time to let the young pups step up and headline, still a few big nights left in me nowhere near finished but hopefully a few big fights away/abroad/even down the country, with no pressure on me for the arena.
“This game provides my family with a great little life, who of course love with all my heart and that’s what life is all about.”
