Bad Blood: Ritson Beats Davies Jr in Newcastle

Bad Blood: Ritson Beats Davies Jr in Newcastle

By Oliver McManus

The ill-tempered build up between Robbie Davies Jnr and Lewis Ritson set the scene for a pulsating main event in Newcastle.

Davies’ story coming into this bout was feel-good, to say the least. Having won the WBA Continental title on a three fight card promoted by Neil Marsh, losing it four fights later, to British, Commonwealth and European champion, on the verge of a world title; it’s been an eventful few years for the Liverpudlian.

He met the home fighter at the centre of the ring with brash, clubbing shots as he turned on the balls of his feet. Ritson responded well with heavy punches of his own – the bout being fought hard and fast – as both men began to redden in the first round.

Davies Jr was hurt with thirty seconds left of the first and Ritson pounced; he swung with freedom and edged his rival backwards. Paired with those pesky left hooks was a vicious jab, slightly upwards, thrown with real snap. Neither ceded ground at the centre of the ring as the pair traded leather; Davies’ defence slightly looser.

A solid left hand from the Liverpool man tempered the home crowd and kept Ritson in check. Like an old school Western where shots were fired from the hips – this was personal and grudgy. There was well-versed variety from Davies who smothered as he unfurled his shots: not allowing Ritson the room to reply.

Ritson’s jab was perennial but easy to read and Davies was able to keep his head out of harm’s way. The fight was frenetic, it was dirty, it was intense. No respite for either man and you got the feeling it would be the exact same had they met on a street corner let alone in front of a sold out Newcastle Arena. Newcastle’s prodigy drew blood from his toughest assignment as they continued to gruel it out with perverse machismo.

Neither man withered despite the onslaught coming their way nor did they seek to calm the pace of the fight. Ritson saw particular success in the fifth with a flurry of punches halfway through the round – real speed to the hands that saw him land a couple of sharp, jolting shots to Davies’ head.

Davies, meanwhile, switched up the stances in order to stay sharp and keep his opponent keen. With each passing round he became the smarter operator; redoubling his efforts on the fundamentals with a more obvious, effective jab. The early pace slowed into the final third and Ritson was boxing with maturity; instead of relying on his power, as he has done, he seemed more tactically astute in this contest.

Likewise with Cheeseman and Fitzgerald this was another contest that ebbed and flowed like the Thames. Davies was boxing beautifully but the hometown hero matched him every step of the way. 117-112, 116-112, 116-112 to The Sandman, Lewis Ritson.