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Lewis Ritson drops Christian Uruzquieta, forces ninth-round corner retirement

Lewis Ritson
Fighters Network
18
Dec

Junior welterweight Lewis Ritson got back in the win column with a ninth-round corner retirement victory over Mexico City’s Christian Uruzquieta at the Rainton Meadows Arena in Sunderland, England, on Saturday.

Ritson decked Uruzquieta with a brilliant right uppercut in Round 9 and the fight looked over when the visitor spat out his gumshield. Benefitting from extra time to have the mouthpiece replaced, Uruzquieta stormed back gamely, but it was a last ditch effort and his father-trainer pulled him out before the bell for Round 10.

The former British lightweight champion was sharp with the jab from the get-go and boxed with superior shape and flair than Uruzquieta, who was crude by comparison. Ritson’s jab – frequently doubled and tripled – was very effective and bloodied the nose of his opponent in the first half.

Sensing Uruzquieta’s durability, Ritson kept things simple for the most part. The jab set up quick combinations, and the Englishman used the ring well and moved his head to avoid return fire.



Midway through the bout, Uruzquieta targeted the body in a bid to slow Ritson down, but he was unable to score cleanly and the home fighter tempered the assaults and kept things at his pace.

Ritson (22-2, 13 KOs) was already landing some highlight reel power shots before scoring the knockdown and this was a solid performance throughout.

The Newcastle man was coming off a 10th-round stoppage defeat to Jeremias Nicolas Ponce in June and will be very happy to close out the year on a positive note.

Uruzquieta, who hadn’t been stopped since June 2009, drops to 20-5-2 (7 KOs)

Undercard

Unbeaten featherweight Thomas Patrick Ward won a dominant 10-round unanimous decision over Venezuela’s Leonardo Padilla. Two judges scored the bout a shutout at 100-90 (as did The Ring) and the third official scored 98-92.

Ward (31-0-1, 4 KOs) boxed very well from start to finish, imposing his boxing skills and quickness on the visitor. Padilla struggled to score a worthwhile shot and was outpunched and outmaneuvered by the former amateur standout from County Durham in England.

Padilla falls to 20-4 (14 KOs).

 

Tom Gray is Managing Editor for Ring Magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

 

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