Bounce Magazine December 2018

Lewis Ritson
can come
again...
DECEMBER 2018 | ISSUE #74
BY RALPH OATES
A series of articles which will feature boxing facts
from both the past to the present...
A defeat in boxing is not the
end of the world it can of course
be a little demoralising at the
time for a fighter especially if
he is expected to win. On the 13
October 2018 British lightweight
champion Lewis Ritson nicknamed
the Sandman entered
the ring at Metro Radio Arena
in Newcastle Tyne and Wear.
Ritson with an undefeated
record of 17 victories with 11
coming inside the distance
was contesting the vacant
European crown. His opponent
Francesco Patera of Belgium
was a former holder of the title
and his resume consisted of 22
fights with just three defeats
winning eight of his said bouts
inside the distance (including a
disqualification victory).
Expectations were high for
the British fighter but boxing
pundits were aware that Patera
while not a world class fighter
was no walk over. The man from
Belgium was a slick operator
who would not submit easily
and would hence give hence
Ritson all sorts of problems to
overcome. Despite that a Ritson
victory in front of his home
fans looked to be on the cards
perhaps not inside the distance
but a solid 12 round points win
looked the likely scenario.
Patera was no stranger to the
UK on the 15 October 2016
he challenged Sean Dodd
for the World Boxing Council
International lightweight crown.
This contest took place at the
Echo Arena in Liverpool. Patera
came up short when he lost a 10
round points decision.
There was no doubt plans in
place for Ritson should he
defeat Patera, a possible two
defences of the European crown
mixed in with a few non-title
bouts before advancing towards
a world title shot. The future
looked set and exciting for
Ritson but opponent Patera
had plans of his own he too was
ambitious. The fight went the
full route of 12 rounds and the
visitor showed indeed that he
was not a fighter with a loser’s
mentality he came to win and
win he did. Patera proved to
be the better man on the night
and took the decision and the
championship and shocked the
British fighter in the process.
This was a bitter pill for
Ritson to swallow since he
was emerging into a fighter
of prominence one who was
capturing the fight public’s
attention with his exciting
performances and looked to be
a major star of the future.
Ritson must now regroup and
go back to the drawing board
with his team and discover
just what went wrong.
Truthfully very few fighters
are able to go through their
professional careers without
a loss on their record. Those
who have met with defeat
have often come back better
fighters having learnt from the
experience.
Ritson has the talent to get
over this setback and put the
loss behind him and go on to
higher honours. After a rest he
can return to the ring in 2019
and perhaps indulge in a three
or four bout’s before setting
his sights on the European
crown again. If Patera is still the
reigning continental champion
during that time a Ritson-
Patera return bout would be
an immediate attraction. The
British fighter who is promoted
by Matchroom Boxing can
extract revenge over his former
conqueror and hence put
himself back on course for a
world title shot.
36