He might not get a great deal of time to savour the moment but what a night for Lewis Ritson.
The 24-year-old is unlikely to be given much of a breather by his coaches following another rapid-fire victory, a third-round stoppage over Oscar Amador in Birmingham.
Ritson has the not-so-small matter of a European championship challenge against Francesco Patera in Newcastle in just five Saturdays time.
Lewis’s dad, Davy, and fellow coach, Neil Fannan, will have him back in the gym pretty sharpish after this 17th straight victory in a career which shows no sign of slowing.
A clash with the Belgian, a former European holder, will be the hardest bout to date, but the display of ‘The Sandman’ at Arena Birmingham on the Amir Khan-Samuel Vargas undercard was another ideal display of temperament and, of course, power.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said after the win over Amador: “This was a perfect performance.
“We move on and five weeks tonight he’s going to raise the roof in Newcastle. He’s built something, and we’ve built something very special up there.
“Patera is going to be a tough fight so that was good practice for him in there.
“Francesco will be moving – he’s very cute and he’s clever – so he’s got to be patient.”
Amador was hired to take Ritson some rounds and while three does not sound excessive you must take into account that the Forest Hall fighter’s three previous opponents only managed four combined.
Operating behind one of the best jabs in the business, the British lightweight king began to hurt the 24-year-old, who had had begun positively.
And the end came in the third when Amador went down on his knee after suffering a trademark Ritson left to the body and could not , or would not, recover.
“I’m injury-free, it’s nice to get some rounds in the bank,” Ritson told Sky Sports afterwards.
“Hopefully, we have another big night on October 13, I’m prepared. Patera is durable, he can box and fight, we’ll see what he brings.
“I could have done 12 rounds tonight, I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Words: Roy Kelly Pictures: Lawrence Lustig/ Matchroom
