{"id":762,"date":"2021-06-10T19:22:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T19:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=762"},"modified":"2021-06-10T19:22:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T19:22:14","slug":"ritson-vs-ponce-press-conference-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=762","title":{"rendered":"RITSON VS. PONCE PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport:<\/strong>

“We’re back in Newcastle and what a place to return with fans. Although we only have 1,000 people in there on Saturday it will feel like the normal eight, nine or ten thousand we have up here. A massive moment in the career of Lewis Ritson against Jeremias Ponce in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Super-Lightweight World Title which will of course lead to a shot at the Undisputed Lightweight World Championship against Josh Taylor. This is a fight to position themselves as Mandatory to that belt. Live on Sky Sports and live on DAZN around the world. It’s a big card in Newcastle.”

Lewis Ritson \u2013 Forest Hall, England \u2013 21-1, 12 KOs \u2013 fighting Jeremias Ponce in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Super-Lightweight World Title:<\/strong>

\u201cGetting past Ponce is what every kid dreams of, I feel nice and relaxed and I can\u2019t wat for Saturday in front of 1000 fans.
 
\u201cI think being back with the fans we\u2019ll see the best of Lewis Ritson, it\u2019s the best and most relaxed I\u2019ve felt for a good while. No fans in the bubble is a bit flat, but we\u2019re expecting an explosive performance on Saturday.
 
\u201cI\u2019ve had about 11\/12 fights for Matchroom, I feel like a bit of veteran, I\u2019m already 27, but still young and fresh and not took much punishment. Now the time the apprenticeship is over, we\u2019re ready for the big fights.
 
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to have go looking for each other, I think it\u2019s going to be a very hard fight \u2013 a tough night on Saturday night. But one I think we can get through.

Jeremias Ponce \u2013 Buenos Aires, Argentina \u2013 27-0, 17 KOs \u2013 fighting Lewis Ritson in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Super-Lightweight World Title:<\/strong>

\u201cWithout doubt this is the biggest fight of my life.
 
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very entertaining fight; I\u2019m going looking for the knockout. If that doesn\u2019t happen so be it, but that\u2019s the aim.
 
\u201cIt\u2019ll be a dream for me personally, in Argentina we don\u2019t have many champions, but it\u2019ll be huge to get a shot at the World Title.\u201d 

Thomas Patrick Ward \u2013 West Rainton, England \u2013 29-0-1, 4 KOs \u2013 fighting Edy Valencia Mecado in a ten round Featherweight clash:<\/strong>

\u201cLast time out wasn\u2019t my best performance but this Saturday night you\u2019re going to see a different Thomas Ward. It was a bad cut, but we got it stitched up, it healed up and we\u2019re ready to go.
 
\u201cEdy\u2019s a good fighter, the Mexican\u2019s come and give it all they\u2019ve got. I\u2019m definitely looking to put on a good show, a good statement, move forward and smash up some of these World Champions that don\u2019t want to fight.
 
\u201cI\u2019m not looking past Saturday night; I\u2019ve got a tough opponent in front of me who\u2019s going to be coming and giving it his all. I\u2019ve been rated quite highly for quite some time; I\u2019m pushing on for those World Title fights. I want to fight them; do they want to fight me? Let\u2019s see, let\u2019s get it on.\u201d 

Edy Valencia Mecado \u2013 Culiacan, Mexico \u2013 17-5-6, 5 KOs \u2013 fighting Thomas Patrick Ward in a ten round Featherweight clash: <\/strong>
 
\u201cIt\u2019s a very proud moment for me to be coming here and I really do want to add to that list of Mexican\u2019s that have caused an upset here. It\u2019s a proud moment to be alongside you Eddie and my rival. I think for the fight I have the tools and mentality to be able to make this work, I think the only winner in this fight are the people watching.
 
\u201cHopefully, finally everyone can enjoy a good show. Mexican fighters come on the front foot and trade. I\u2019ll wait to see what happens in the fight, I\u2019m able to adapt my style, I have many different styles I can accommodate. Hopefully we can look forward to a great fight on Saturday night.\u201d

Alen Babic \u2013 Zagreb, Croatia \u2013 6-0, 6 KOs \u2013 fighting Damian Chambers in a six round Heavyweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cI feel blessed every time I\u2019m here. The surgery was bad, I didn\u2019t want to say it to myself, but I knew it was going to go down because that shoulder had been bad for the whole of the last year. I was talking to my inner self just hold on for a few more fights. I\u2019ve done that now and my hand is feeling stronger than ever, I\u2019m finally 150% back.
 
\u201cI did some things with the recovery which were different, I\u2019ve been sending savage to my shoulder to recover it. I\u2019ve been doing things differently, they told me I\u2019d be out for ten months, and I was back in two months. I\u2019m so much better than before and I\u2019m going to show it.
 
\u201cI want to be a fighter in three weights, Cruiserweight, Bridgerweight and Heavyweight. I don\u2019t care about the weight, that doesn\u2019t been I don\u2019t want to fight other weights, it means I don\u2019t care where I\u2019m fighting. My heart will always be in Heavyweight, but I can fight Light-Heavyweight if you make me angry enough. I don\u2019t care about weights; I want to fight.
 
\u201cThey offered me so many tournaments and I said no I don\u2019t want someone who\u2019s going to fall because they know they can\u2019t beat me. This is a guy [Chambers] who has a lot of knockouts, 11-1, he\u2019s a very good guy. It\u2019s going to be tremendous battle and I think it\u2019s going to over inside 1-2. He\u2019s a puncher but not much of a mover, this guy may be faster or stronger, I don\u2019t know but we\u2019re going to find out.\u201d

Damian Chambers \u2013 Dukinfield, England \u2013 11-1, 7 KOs \u2013 fighting Alen Babic in a six round Heavyweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cI know it\u2019s going to be a tough night\u2019s work; I\u2019ve watched him before on shows and he is a tough fighter, he comes forward just throwing punches. We got the call on Sunday, by coach said we\u2019ve got a fight do you want to take it it\u2019s against Babic, he\u2019s a tough guy I\u2019ve watched before. He\u2019s a Heavweight and I\u2019m usually at Cruiserweight, he\u2019s got the advantage but straight away I said I think it\u2019s a good opportunity for me to showcase my skills.
 
\u201cI can\u2019t wait, I\u2019ve been in the gym anyway training, over the last six days I\u2019ve been in the gym training \u2013 sparring Monday and Tuesday. I had a tough session yesterday, we had a fight coming up anyway at the end of July, I\u2019ve not fought in 16 months so we might as well take the fight. It\u2019s not an easy fight, he\u2019s a tough man, I\u2019m going to have to be on my A game and make no mistakes.\u201d 

Cyrus Pattinson \u2013 Alnwick, England \u2013 Professional Debut \u2013 fighting Yoncho Markov in a six round Super-Welterweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling, we\u2019re finally here, we\u2019ve been waiting for a year now with the COVID situation. I was devastated with COVID kicked in because that opportunity to make my debut in Newcastle last time out was taken away. It feels like the stars have aligned and we\u2019re back here in Newcastle and the debut is still on.
 
\u201cThe experience is second to none, all those times turning up to competitions and fighting these world ranked opponents and Olympic medallists. You can\u2019t get that experience elsewhere in the world, obviously the training camps you\u2019ve got to factor in as well. Going to Kazakhstan and sparring six rounds with fresh opponents, it\u2019s matures you as a person and excels you experience as well.
 
\u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve both discussed before the debut came about, we didn\u2019t really want to take the four round fights which a lot of boxers usually take, usually with an opponent with a losing record. Instead, we wanted someone over six rounds, winning record, who\u2019s going to bring the fight to us \u2013 that\u2019s something I\u2019m used to. I think that\u2019s going to show the best out of me. I\u2019m a humble person, I think that people can expect a good night and a good performance.\u201d

Solomon Dacres \u2013 Birmingham, England \u2013 1-0<\/strong> \u2013 fighting Alvaro Terrero in a six round Heavyweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cI hadn\u2019t even got my clothes off from the last one and you [Eddie] were asking me for the next one. I took it, I\u2019m ready and it\u2019s good to get out pretty quickly again.
 
\u201cThat\u2019s what boxing is about, I\u2019m looking to progress to the highest level of the game, so I don\u2019t want any easy touches. I want to be proven and having good fights I can learn from.
 
\u201cI\u2019ve said in the next twelve to eighteen months I want to be looking at British Title level and then pushing on. It\u2019s a quick projection but I feel like I\u2019m there technically and boxing wise \u2013 I just need the experience. All I need to do is get the fights under my belt and I\u2019ll be ready to go at the higher levels. But on Saturday I\u2019ve got to get through Alvaro.\u201d
 
Alvaro Terrero \u2013 Cadiz, Spain \u2013 5-11-2, 3 KOs \u2013 fighting Solomon Dacres in a six round Heavyweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cI\u2019m delighted to be here.\u201d
 
\u201cYes, I see him [Solomon] as a great opponent.\u201d 

Joe Laws \u2013 Benwell, England \u2013 9-1, 5 KOs \u2013 fighting Chris Adaway in a six round Welterweight contest:<\/strong>

“I cannot wait. Chris Adaway, I know him personally, I\u2019ve seen fight loads and he\u2019s a game competitor. He\u2019s as game as they come, he never gets soft, he goes in there and gives all his prospects one hell of a go. I\u2019m feeling good myself, I\u2019m back in the best city in the world, I can\u2019t wait to go out there, put a show on and get back to winning ways.
 
\u201cI\u2019ve learnt not to block shots with my forehead. No, what I\u2019ve learnt is that I do want to box. Last Christmas I asked myself questions of do I want this, but I do. Here I am, come Saturday night I can\u2019t wait to go out there. I might be nervous, but the crowds are back, but that nervous energy is what feeds me.
 
\u201cI got some stick about losing, but that\u2019s just social media. It was a low point at Christmas but I\u2019m a man, I picked myself up and I\u2019m back. Mentally and physically, I feel great, I\u2019m 26-years-old. I\u2019m a young pup in this sport. The past 18 months have been hard for boxing but come Saturday it\u2019ll be a clip of what\u2019s to come. The show will be electric.\u201d 

April Hunter \u2013 Wallsend, England \u2013 3-0 \u2013 fighting Klaudia Vigh in a four round Welterweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be back, I\u2019m home with my people, my city. I can\u2019t wait to have a great performance Saturday night.
 
\u201cStrictly boxing Saturday night, I\u2019m not going to get carried away. I\u2019m going to show my skill, we\u2019ll see Saturday night.
 
\u201cI think the pool of boxing is going to keep expanded. The next 18 months is pivotal for me, I\u2019ve had Rick Ramos calling fights out that I\u2019m interested in. I\u2019ve got my eye more on Jessica, but if that\u2019s the fight I\u2019ve got to go through to get to her then I\u2019ll be happy to do it.\u201d

Klaudia Vigh \u2013 Budapest, Hungary \u2013 32-27-1, 2 KOs \u2013 fighting April Hunter in a four round Welterweight contest:<\/strong>

\u201cIt\u2019s a big chance and I\u2019m very motivated. I like to box in the UK every time, it\u2019s not my first time here. I\u2019m waiting for Saturday night.\u201d<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport: “We’re back in Newcastle and what a place to return with fans. Although we<\/p>\n

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