{"id":827,"date":"2021-06-13T14:41:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=827"},"modified":"2021-06-13T14:41:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T14:41:12","slug":"ponce-stops-ritson-in-ibf-super-lightweight-world-title-final-eliminator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/?p=827","title":{"rendered":"PONCE STOPS RITSON IN IBF SUPER-LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE FINAL ELIMINATOR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
12 x 3 mins IBF Super-Lightweight World Title Final Eliminator<\/strong>
LEWIS RITSON<\/strong>\u00a0v JEREMIAS PONCE\u00a0WTKO10 (1:24)<\/strong>
(Forest Hall, England) \u00a0(Buenos Aires, Argentina)<\/strong>Lewis Ritson’s World Title hopes were wrecked by a punishing 10th-round stoppage loss to Jeremias Ponce\u00a0at the Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the US\u00a0and more than 200 countries and territories.Ritson was floored on three occasions by the relentless Argentine, who became the IBF Mandatory Challenger for Scotland’s Undisputed World Super-Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor.”Thanks very much for wishing me well after my fight,” Ponce told\u00a0Chris Lloyd<\/strong>. “It was a very tough fight, a lot tougher than I expected it to be. I expected a war with Ritson and he’s a tough fighter – tougher than I expected.\u00a0

“Yes I did think it was over in the first round – it was a great body shot that I hit him with. Any other boxer would have gone down.I hit him right on the button and it would have hurt him. He showed his toughness that he was able to recover from that.\u00a0

“It was a bit confusing when we were in the ring because I thought the fight was over as soon as I saw the towel come in. Then I saw the ref throw it out – to be honest it was a bit of a shock. He’s probably hurt in the rib area now and he wouldn’t have been if he stopped the fight when we saw the towel come in.

“It’s one step closer to my dream. It’s the dream that you always have as a fighter. I’m one step away from that now. Thank you very much, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out as your expected, but thank you very much.”

10 x 3 mins International\u00a0Featherweight\u00a0contest\u00a0<\/strong>
THOMAS PATRICK WARD\u00a0WUD10 (97-93, 98-92, 98-92)\u00a0v EDY VALENCIA MERCADO\u00a0<\/strong>
(West Rainton, England) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Culiacan, Mexico)<\/strong>Thomas Patrick\u00a0Ward picked up the 30th win of his professional career, thanks to a stylish unanimous decision victory over Edy Valencia Mercado.Ward (30-0-1, 4 KOs) came out on top thanks to scorecards of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93, seeing him get back in the win column following his technical draw with Thomas Essomba last October.\u201cI hadn\u2019t boxed for nearly a year before Essomba,”\u00a0Ward<\/strong>\u00a0told Sky Sports. “It was a bad year, and that wasn\u2019t me on that night. We\u2019re only humans and not machines, but tonight was a better night. It was a great fight for the fans, and I\u2019m so happy to have them back. I really enjoyed it in there.\u201cAt Super-Bantamweight I had a great ranking with the WBO, IBF and WBC. This fight was at 128lbs, but I\u2019ve been chasing Emanuel Navarrete for a while.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s a great fighter, and I got close to fighting him at Super-Bantamweight and thought I would have got my shot. We have both moved up now, and I want to fight him.\u201d

6 x 3 mins International Heavyweight contest\u00a0<\/strong>
ALEN BABIC\u00a0WTKO3 (1:30)\u00a0v DAMIAM CHAMBERS<\/strong>
(Zagreb, Croatia) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Dukinfield, England)<\/strong>Alen Babic blasted aside Damian Chambers with a huge left hook as the Croatian Heavyweight contender added another knockout to his destructive record.’The Savage’ Babic produced a dramatic one-punch knockout of Chambers, sealing his seventh straight stoppage, as he returned to the ring following shoulder surgery.\u201cThe third time I\u2019ve gone into the third round, but it\u2019s good it\u2019s only another half a minute probably,”\u00a0Babic<\/strong>\u00a0told Matchroom. “All kudos to Damian Chambers, I love him, he\u2019s a very tough guy. I have the power to knock guys out who are 130 kilos, he was like 89 and took those shots. I thought, ‘what is this guy made of?’. I love Damian Chambers.
\u00a0
\u201cThat\u2019s why I didn\u2019t do any trash talk, the guy took a fight on six days\u2019 notice against ‘The Savage’ and he saw my knockouts. I have nothing but respect for the guy, I\u2019ll never disrespect guys like that.
\u00a0
\u201cI saw the whole arena, they\u2019re on my side, my heart is so full, I love Newcastle. I\u2019m going to come back and drink brown ale tonight. I just feel so blessed to be here, I sense the synergy between Newcastle and me since day one. I\u2019m so grateful.
\u00a0
\u201cI want to involve the fans as much as I can in my fights, that\u2019s why I do these kinds of things so they can participate.
\u00a0
\u201cYesterday I wrote a post on Facebook saying, I\u2019m just waiting for a dream, this is all a big dream, seeing myself on big billboards, trending on Twitter. I can\u2019t believe it, I\u2019m a simple and humble guy so this is all just a pure blessing to me \u2013 every day and every minute.
\u00a0
\u201cThis fight gets me closer to that, when I get Matchroom in Croatia that is my goal. I\u2019d give all my money from the tickets to the children so they can see the real sportsmanship. I really want that, and this is just one step closer to fulfilling my dream which is to involve people in boxing. I can\u2019t just hold it to myself, that\u2019s selfish.
\u00a0
\u201cWe were supposed to announce that fight (Nick Webb) for Fight Camp but of course we won\u2019t do that people he b*tched out, he\u2019s just a little b*tch. I have no respect for him no more, he avoided Fabio Wardley for three years, me for two, it\u2019s getting silly \u2013 I must move on to bigger and better guys.
\u00a0
\u201cOkolie is a great guy, a great champion, he\u2019s done a lot more than I have. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m never going to disrespect guys like that, he is my friend. I want to fight him. Of course, I do, for the title, he\u2019s a f****ng beast. I would fight him and all of the Bridgerweights, Rivas, Hooker.
\u00a0
\u201cI don\u2019t care about belts; I just want a good fight for the fans. I want to bring stadiums to life, I want to bring energy, that\u2019s my goal. Just give me whoever you want, don\u2019t tell me who it is, I don\u2019t care.\u201d

6 x 3 mins International Super-Welterweight contest<\/strong>
CYRUS PATTINSON\u00a0WKO2 (1:47)<\/strong>\u00a0v YONCHO MARKOV<\/strong>
(Alnwick, England) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Sofia, Bulgaria)<\/strong>

Cyrus Pattinson shined on his highly-anticipated professional debut \u2013\u00a0stopping Bulgaria’s Yoncho Markov in two rounds.

The former Team GB talent dropped Markov to the canvas twice before\u00a0referee Victor Loughlin waved off the contest.

\u201cI was really happy with my performance, it was a bit cagey early on, we knew he was eager \u2013 he\u2019s been game as a badger all week,” Pattinson told\u00a0Matchroom<\/strong>. “It was a bit unorthodox, stepping through his shots sometimes, couldn\u2019t judge the distance but after the first round I started settling down. I told Graham in the corner that this was only going to go one way from there.
\u00a0
\u201cI put my shots together well, I know that I dug them in \u2013 head and body. I was really happy with where we went in the second round.
\u00a0
\u201cThis was better than I ever could have imagined it, the support I got tonight was overwhelming, I didn\u2019t realise it was going to be like that. I\u2019ve always said that the atmosphere in Newcastle is second to none so what a way to start your debut.
\u00a0
\u201cLast year we were lining up for the show and everything happened, so it got put on the back burner. A couple dates come up, they were elsewhere but we couldn\u2019t get the medicals or licences through on time, when everything came together it was Newcastle and spectators were back \u2013 it was like someone was looking out for me.
\u00a0
\u201cI want to be tested, I don\u2019t want to be taking any backwards steps, I\u2019m taking each fight as they come. I\u2019m enjoying the ride and soaking it up because it\u2019s soon over and you wish you were back in the moment.
\u00a0
\u201cIn the tunnel when everyone was chanting and my ring walk kicked in, I started getting hairs up on the back of my neck. I just remember Graham telling me to be calm, calculated and stay sharp. That got a bit cloudy first round, which it does, but take a bit from it \u2013 I\u2019m happy.
\u00a0
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m a lot more suited for the professionals, certain shot selections are hard to get off in the amateurs \u2013 a lot of people are flighty and don\u2019t hold their feet as much. I\u2019m definitely more suited for this game.
\u00a0
\u201cI\u2019ve been over the moon for them (Team GB), I\u2019ve been supporting them all last week and this week, I\u2019ve been sharing all their stuff, messaging them, watching them, I\u2019m just really happy \u2013 I know how hard they\u2019ve worked. Especially the big man Frazer Clarke, he\u2019s waited a long time, 11 years, I was really happy for him”.
\u00a0
6 x 3 mins International Heavyweight contest<\/strong>
SOLOMON DACRES\u00a0WTKO4 (1:36)<\/strong>\u00a0v ALVARO TERRERO<\/strong>
(Birmingham, England) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Cadiz,\u00a0Spain)<\/strong>

Former Team GB standout Solomon Dacres took Alvaro Terrero out in four rounds to earn his first stoppage win in the pros and progress to 2-0.\u00a0

‘The Real Deal’ was taken the distance in his pro debut against Mladen Manev\u00a0at Manchester Arena last month and was keen to earn his first win inside the distance in Newcastle.\u00a0

\u201cI took my time the first couple of rounds, I got a few clean shots off but when I stepped up in the fourth and the ref jumped in it was fair because I was starting to land clean on him then,”\u00a0Dacres<\/strong>\u00a0told Matchroom.
\u00a0
\u201cAs a Heavyweight you want to get the knockouts, that\u2019s getting my first one out the way and now hopefully many more to come.
\u00a0
\u201cWhen you\u2019re starting off in the game you need to keep yourself active and keep your face in the game as well \u2013 build your profile and all the other stuff that happens behind the fight.
\u00a0
\u201cIt was a mini three-week training camp from the last one but yeah at times I did sit down on a few instead of 4\u2019s and 5\u2019s. I was putting 2\u2019s and 3\u2019s together and trying to put a bit more venom behind them.
\u00a0
\u201cThey\u2019ve (GB Boxing) had great success in the qualifiers, 11 boxers through, going to the games they\u2019ve got a great chance of getting a whole heap of medals out there \u2013 they\u2019ve got some quality boxers in the squad that I was a part of.
\u00a0
\u201cI\u2019ve got the platform, I\u2019ve got Matchroom behind me and everything that comes with that. I\u2019m putting the extremely hard graft in the gym so hopefully I keep my head down, keep progressing and get to where we want to get to.
\u00a0
\u201cGetting a Heavyweight Champion from Birmingham would be absolutely huge, we\u2019re a huge city and hopefully we can get a huge following behind myself and build my profile. Build myself in Birmingham, get the shows in Brum and get some great nights there.
\u00a0
\u201cI say I\u2019ll fight anybody and they [Solomon\u2019s team] say okay we\u2019ll just take it steady, that\u2019s their job in the management. I\u2019m just going to be there to fight anybody, put the work in and get ready.
\u00a0
\u201cThat sort of sparring [Joy Joyce] where the guys I\u2019m sparring are ahead of the level of the competitors in the ring is important to keep improving, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t get a taste of that higher level of boxing \u2013 that sparring is crucial.
\u00a0
\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking to get a British Title, something along those lines, to kick start things and more to come.\u201d

4 x 2 mins\u00a0International Super-Welterweight contest<\/strong>
APRIL HUNTER\u00a0WPTS4 (40-37)<\/strong>\u00a0v KLAUDIA VIGH\u00a0<\/strong>
(Wallsend, England) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Budapest, Hungary)<\/strong>

April Hunter progressed to 4-0 with a comfortable points win over Hungary’s Klaudia Vigh in the first televised fight of the evening.\u00a0

The 26-year-old from Wallsend was bumped up to the televised segment of the show after Ellie Scotney’s opponent Vanesa Caballero\u00a0test positive for COVID-19 \u2013\u00a0resulting in their fight being cancelled.\u00a0

‘The Hunter’ was fighting\u00a0in her home city for the second time as a professional following a hard-fought win against Elsa Hemat in Barcelona – and sent her fans home happy with a 40-37 decision.

\u201cI\u2019m leaving feeling happy, the support is amazing,”\u00a0Hunter<\/strong>\u00a0told Matchroom. “I\u2019m never going to be too happy; I\u2019ll always be critiquing myself because I\u2019m a baby in the game. 15 fights, that\u2019s my fourth professional fight \u2013 I\u2019m just learning the job. I think I dropped the ball a bit in the first round, she came swinging, I was just getting into it in the fourth and I think if I had six rounds, I would have stopped her.
\u00a0
\u201cShe [Savannah Marshall] was bang on, she told me she\u2019d come for the first twenty seconds, and she did. 1000 fans, I haven\u2019t boxed in front of fans for ages. My ring walk was electric, and I was all hyped up. My experience and all this stuff comes, staying calm and collected, couldn\u2019t really hear my coaches voice through his mask \u2013 it was just one of them.
\u00a0
\u201cReally proud moment for me, I don\u2019t know what come over me, I wasn\u2019t planning on coming out and singing like that, but I just felt it and went with it. None of that was planned.
\u00a0
\u201cI\u2019m sparring Savannah every Wednesday and Thursday, I\u2019m learning every week, she can see the improvements and if she can see them then everybody can. I\u2019m learning on the job, every single time.
\u00a0
\u201cThe fight game is all about taking it from the gym and putting it in the ring, it was little things in there tonight that I did wrong, probably lots, but there\u2019s also things that we\u2019ve worked on that I got off. I do believe if I had the six it would be a different story, but you live and you learn.
\u00a0
\u201cPerfect time, women\u2019s boxing is booming. Like you say, Savannah Marshall vs. Clarissa Shields is the biggest fight in women\u2019s boxing if you ask me, after that fight the opportunities are going to be endless.\u201d

6 x 3 mins Welterweight contest<\/strong>
JOE LAWS\u00a0WPTS6 (60-54)\u00a0v CHRIS ADAWAY\u00a0<\/strong>
(Benwell, England) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Plymouth, England)<\/strong>

‘The Benwell Bomber’ Joe Laws put the disappointment of his first defeat in the pro ranks behind him by widely outpointing Plymouth’s Chris Adaway 60-54 in the opening bout of the night at the Vertu Arena, Newcastle.\u00a0

Laws\u00a0was sent crashing to the canvas three times in a third-round knockout loss at the hands of Rylan Charlton last October \u2013\u00a0but the 26-year-old Geordie favourite was in complete control as he made a winning return in front of his local support – taking every round on the referee’s scorecard.\u00a0

\u201cI can see he hasn\u2019t been stopped much, he\u2019s tough,” Laws told\u00a0Matchroom<\/strong>. “I\u2019m glad to be back, knock the ring rust off. At times it felt good, at times it felt bad but I\u2019ve been trying a lot since Christmas.
\u00a0
\u201cI was 26 years of age, 9 fights, 9 wins, 5 knockouts, the best thing that could have happened to me is getting knocked out. I\u2019ve signed with MTK, I\u2019m rebuilding again, I\u2019m starting from fresh. I\u2019m never going to be a world beater, but I\u2019ve got a big set of balls, a good heart, I train hard, and I know there\u2019s good fights out there where I can pack arenas out and win belts.
\u00a0
\u201cIt felt great, I was never going to be at my peak, I got too heavy at Christmas but now I can build on this. I\u2019ve signed with MTK and I\u2019m starting afresh again. I\u2019m young enough and I\u2019ve got the best sponsors in the world who are going to support us, I\u2019m not going to start calling out stupid names.
\u00a0
\u201cI\u2019ve got loads to learn, I learnt loads in the ring tonight but I\u2019m willing to put in the hard work in through the years to get to where I want to be.
\u00a0
\u201cHopefully I can get 2\/3 more fights, 2\/3 more wins, step up the rounds to 8 and keep learning and improving.\u201d<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

12 x 3 mins IBF Super-Lightweight World Title Final EliminatorLEWIS RITSON\u00a0v JEREMIAS PONCE\u00a0WTKO10 (1:24)(Forest Hall, England) \u00a0(Buenos Aires, Argentina)Lewis Ritson’s<\/p>\n

Continue readingPONCE STOPS RITSON IN IBF SUPER-LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD TITLE FINAL ELIMINATOR<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[193],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosportsandentertainment.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}