Forest Hall will turn out in force next month at the Utilita Arena where Lewis Ritson can settle ‘Bad Blood’ with arch-rival Robbie Davies.
But hopefully there will be a few Forest Hall folk inside the Newcastle Eagles Arena on Saturday night to support Terence Wilkinson as he looks to register his seventh professional victory on MTK’s big show.
The unbeaten boxer, from Walker, faces Danny Mendoza over four rounds on the undercard of Tommy Ward’s international date with another Nicaraguan, Yesner Talavera.
On paper, Wilkinson v Mendoza has the makings of one of the bouts of the evening.
Terence boasts a perfect six-fight record while Mendoza’s stands at 6-3 but he looks no dummy with three of his victories coming against opponents with winning records.
“We want Terry to be boxing better than average opposition,” coach Davy Ritson told punch-lines.
“This is an interesting fight, the kid he’s boxing has one or two wins.”
Wilkinson will be coming in again looking light and sprightly, following on from his impressive appearance at the Stadium of Light, where he tipped scales at 139¾lb.
The Geordie was sharp when seeing off Lee Connelly in Sunderland (pictured) and this is all part of a plan to fight for a Northern Area title at lightweight before the end of the year.
“He’ll be fighting at 141 pounds and it will be the same for the October 19 show too,” said Davy.
“Like Lewis, he’s a really dedicated lad, always a six day a week trainer.”
And, like Lewis, he loves getting stuck in, but Davy says he’s been looking to implement a few modifications.
“We’ve been working on a few things,” he explained. “He’s a lot like Lewis, he’d rather stand toe-to-toe and have a fight.
“He is a tough lad, but I’d like a bit more class, still getting his shots off but then roll out.
“You look up close at a Lee Selby or a Ricky Burns, they would hit you twice and get out rather than hit you four times and take two punches back.”
We will get to see how the work done in the gym translates into the ring – it certainly looks the ideal test and hopefully there will be a good crowd in to see it.
Boxing is expected to start around 5pm on Saturday.
Words: Roy Kelly
