Lewis Ritson W12 Miguel Vazquez.... British junior welterweight Lewis Ritson [barely] came out on top against former IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez. Ritson, fighting in his home country, got a split decision verdict over the Mexican visitor. Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) went up against Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs) on a Matchroom Boxing show live on Sky Sports and DAZN, with the fight going the full twelve rounds. The Newcastle boxer got the nod, with the judges scoring it 117-111, 115-113 for Ritson and 116-113 for Vazquez. The judge who scored it 117-111 for Ritson is Terry O'Connor who was photographed looking at his cell phone during the fight. Ritson's promoter Eddie Hearn was rightly offended by the photo. Hearn tweeted, "If that’s a phone (and I presume it is) then then BBBofC should immediately remove him." Hearn also told IFL TV's Kugan Cassius, "I had Vazquez winning the fight comfortably... I can't see a way that Vazquez didn't win that fight and 117-111 is an absolute disgrace, it's the only way to say it."

 

 

Ritson admitted afterwards that he needs to improve. He said: “It just depends what you like doesn’t it. He was tapping me and running away. I was hitting him with the cleaner jabs. It was very frustrating being out the gym a year and then facing that style. It was probably more awkward than I thought it was going to be. The more the fight went on the more frustrated I got. It was a big eye opener. We’ve been mentioning the Prograis fight, tonight was a bit of an eye opener that we’re a million miles off that fight. We need a couple more fights like Vazquez, maybe not his style. That’s what you get when you step up. We had a hard job doing it. I’m improving as a fighter but I’ve got a lot more improving to do.”

Thomas Patrick Ward D8 Thomas Essomba... Elsewhere on the show, a super bantamweight bout between Thomas Patrick Ward and Thomas Essomba ended in a technical draw after eight rounds, due to an extremely bad cut over the left eye of Ward. The doctor deemed that the fight couldn’t continue, with it going to the cards after eight rounds and the judges scoring it 88-84 (Ward), 88-85 (Essomba) and 86-86, meaning Ward (29-0-1, 4 KOs) remains unbeaten after a tough battle with Essomba (10-6-1, 4 KOs). The 88-84 card for Ward was turned in by none other than O'Connor.