Lewis Ritson will not just be hitting Robbie Davies when the pair take to the ring to settle Bad Blood, he will be “hitting a warrior”.
That is the assessment of Neil Marsh, the manager who has guided the Scouser to number six on the planet with the World Boxing Association.
Ritson v Davies looks like being an outstanding confrontation in Newcastle on Saturday October 19.
In fact Tuesday’s media conference could be worth watching as two arch-rivals at light-welterweight come face to face.
Ritson has back-to-back wins behind him up at 10 stones after the first loss of his career to Francesco Patera for the European lightweight title.
Davies (pictured), meanwhile, is on a belting run of four wins including a British and Commonwealth title triumph over Glenn Foot at the Metro Radio Arena last October and a British and European success over Joe Hughes in Liverpool.
“This is a fantastic fight for the fans,” Marsh told punch-lines. ”It’s a great fight for the two boxers, two honest professionals who are trying to earn a living from the sport.
“I understand Lewis is a decent kid and he’s done well so far. He is a fighter I respect.
“He’s got a good jab, a good to the body and other quality attributes, but has he got what it takes to beat Robbie Davies in a poker match?
“While Lewis has shown he can hit at lightweight, can he hit at this level?
“What fans might forget is that he is not just hitting anyone here, he’ll be hitting a warrior.
“We have great confidence as a team about this fight, we’ll have no problems about beating Lewis in his own backyard.
“We do believe Robbie is a level above Lewis – Robbie can out-box him our out-fight him.
“Against Glenn Foot, Robbie got a bad cut and had to grind it out and against Joe Hughes he went toe to toe.
“Robbie can go forward, he can go back, he can do everything.”
Since those successes, Davies has abdicated his Commonwealth and European belts, while he faces the prospect of handing the British belt back as his mandatory challenger is East London’s Philip Bowes.
At the time of writing, no championship or status has been attached to the fight, though we may learn more at the media event at Newcastle Civic Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
A WBA title eliminator looks a like scenario.
A nice aside from Bad Blood is that the two managers, Marsh and Phil Jeffries, are old friends as well as rivals.
“Jaffa’s my mate,” said Neil, who also thanked Matchroom for the opportunity. “This is business.
“I wish Team Ritson a good camp.
“It’s a great fight and the kid who wins will go on to bigger and better things.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Dave Thompson/ Matchroom
