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By David A. Avila
England’s Lewis Ritson survived the trickery of Mexico’s Miguel Vazquez to win a regional title by split decision on Saturday.
Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) was lining up to face the big dogs of the super lightweight division and needed a measuring stick like Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs) to see where he stands. In front of no fans the English fighter discovered he’s just not ready.
“Yeah it was a very close fight,” said Ritson, 27, who lives in Forest Hall, England. “I was hitting him with cleaner shots.”
Harder shots maybe. Cleaner shots not as much.
If you know anything about Vazquez it’s that he does not fight like the typical Mexican prizefighter. The fighter from Guadalajara was dubbed “El Titere” for a reason and that comes from his puppet-like movements and touch-and-go fighting.
Vazquez touched Ritson all night and rarely took a blow in return that connected solidly. If there were a punch counting video it would have been overwhelmingly in favor of the Mexican fighter.
But Ritson also was never hurt and more or less maintained his aggressive style for all 12 rounds. He stormed ahead quickly in the beginning but was soon figured out by Vazquez and that’s when the trickery emerged.
“It was frustrating,” said Ritson honestly. “I knew it would be close.”
After 12 rounds that saw Vazquez dance around and pepper Ritson with bothersome shots, it was apparent that anyone could win this fight.
One judge saw it 116-113 for Vazquez, but two others scored it 115-113, 117-111 for Ritson.
Ritson has the temperament but was matched with the wrong style.
Other Bouts
A battle between former sparring partners saw the less celebrated Marc Leach (15-1-1, 3 KOs) surprise Qais Ashfaq (8-1, 3 KOs) and walk in as a southpaw, floor the former amateur star twice and emerge the victor by unanimous decision after 10 rounds. The win gives Leach a noticeable win.
Former amateur standout Ellie Scotney (1-0) floored Bec Connolly (3-8) in the third round with a three-punch combination and proceeded to win every round with her quickness and accuracy. All three judges scored the super bantamweight fight 60-53 for Scotney.
Super bantamweights Thomas Ward (29-0-1) and Thomas Essomba (10-6-1) fought to a technical draw stopped after eight rounds due to an accidental cut on Ward’s eye. Ward started fast but Essomba was rallying in the second half of the scheduled 10-round fight.
Rylan Charlton (6-0-1, 3 KOs) won the battle between undefeated super lightweights by knockout over Joe Laws (9-1, 5 KOs) in the third round. Charlton started fast against the aggressive Laws and floored him first and twice in the third round. The end came at 1:39 of round three.
Another super lightweight bout saw Kane Baker (14-7) beat Meshech Speare (5-1) by decision after six rounds.
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