Tag: Miguel Vazquez

Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. stays busy as he awaits big fight

Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. will face Sven Elbir in a stays-busy bout Saturday as he awaits a big fight.

FIGHT WEEK

CHRIS EUBANK JR. WILL FACE SVEN ELBIR IN A STAY-BUSY FIGHT AS HE AWAITS A POSSIBLE SHOWDOWN WITH BILLY JOE SAUNDERS OR LIAM WILLIAMS.

***

DANIELE SCARDINA (19-0, 15 KOs) VS. JUERGEN DOBERSTEIN (26-4-1, 7 KOs)

  • When: Friday, Oct. 1
  • Where: Allianz Cloud, Milan
  • TV/Stream: DAZN
  • Division: Super middleweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Francesco Patera vs. Devis Boschiero, lightweights
  • Prediction: Scardina UD
  • Background: Scardina, the 168-pound contender from Italy, is well traveled. The 29-year-old started his career in the Dominican Republic, moved his base to Miami and is now fighting primarily in his native country. The capable boxer-puncher, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, has built a gaudy record but has yet to face elite opposition. He will fight Doberstein for a minor 168-pound title in what has become Scardina’s home venue, the Allianz Cloud in Milan, his hometown. Doberstein, a native of Kazakhstan who lives in Germany, rebounded from a seventh-round knockout loss to former titleholder Juergen Braehmer in 2019 by outpointing Roman Hardok in six rounds last October. That was his most-recent fight.

***

CHRIS EUBANK JR. (30-2, 2 KOs) VS. SVEN ELBIR (18-1, 14 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Oct. 2
  • Where: The SSE Arena, London
  • TV/Stream: Sky Sports (in U.K.)
  • Division: Super middleweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor, welterweights
  • Prediction: Eubank KO 5
  • Background: Eubank, ranked No. 1 by the WBA and No. 3 by the WBC, has his eye on a big prize. The 32-year-old Englishman reportedly could face either former titleholder Billy Joe Saunders or Liam Williams before the end of the year or early next year. However, he must get past Elbir in a stay-busy fight first. The 27-year-old Berliner has won consistently but has never faced anyone at Eubank’s level and has fought only his home country. Eubank has won four consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to then-titleholder George Groves in 2018, including a breakout decision over James DeGale in February 2019. He followed that with a second-round TKO over Matvey Korobov, who had to quit with an injury, and a one-sided decision over Marcus Morrison this past May. He has looked good under the tutelage of Roy Jones Jr.

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***

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ (43-10, 17 KOs) VS. OLIVER FLORES (30-3-2, 19 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Oct. 2
  • Where: Verite Social Venue, Monterrey, Mexico
  • TV/Stream: ESPN+
  • Division: Junior welterweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: NA
  • Prediction: Vazquez UD
  • Background: Vazquez is still at it. The 34-year-old former lightweight champion, who reigned between 2010 and 2014, but is only 4-5 in his last nine fights and hasn’t recorded a significant victory since he outpointed Denis Shafikov more than seven years ago. The polished technician last fought in April, when he stopped journeyman Isai Hernandez Renteria in seven rounds at the same venue at which he’ll fight on Saturday. Vazquez lost a disputed split decision to Lewis Ritson the previous October in Ritson’s home country of England. Flores has experience against elite opposition but has come up short each time, losing by stoppage to Miguel Berchelt and Takashi Uchiyama and by decision to Felix Verdejo. The Nicaraguan has won back to back fights since the setback against Verdejo but hasn’t been in the ring since September 2019, two years ago.

[lawrence-related id=14761]

 

Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. stays busy as he awaits big fight

Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. will face Sven Elbir in a stays-busy bout Saturday as he awaits a big fight.

FIGHT WEEK

CHRIS EUBANK JR. WILL FACE SVEN ELBIR IN A STAY-BUSY FIGHT AS HE AWAITS A POSSIBLE SHOWDOWN WITH BILLY JOE SAUNDERS OR LIAM WILLIAMS.

***

DANIELE SCARDINA (19-0, 15 KOs) VS. JUERGEN DOBERSTEIN (26-4-1, 7 KOs)

  • When: Friday, Oct. 1
  • Where: Allianz Cloud, Milan
  • TV/Stream: DAZN
  • Division: Super middleweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Francesco Patera vs. Devis Boschiero, lightweights
  • Prediction: Scardina UD
  • Background: Scardina, the 168-pound contender from Italy, is well traveled. The 29-year-old started his career in the Dominican Republic, moved his base to Miami and is now fighting primarily in his native country. The capable boxer-puncher, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, has built a gaudy record but has yet to face elite opposition. He will fight Doberstein for a minor 168-pound title in what has become Scardina’s home venue, the Allianz Cloud in Milan, his hometown. Doberstein, a native of Kazakhstan who lives in Germany, rebounded from a seventh-round knockout loss to former titleholder Juergen Braehmer in 2019 by outpointing Roman Hardok in six rounds last October. That was his most-recent fight.

***

CHRIS EUBANK JR. (30-2, 2 KOs) VS. SVEN ELBIR (18-1, 14 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Oct. 2
  • Where: The SSE Arena, London
  • TV/Stream: Sky Sports (in U.K.)
  • Division: Super middleweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor, welterweights
  • Prediction: Eubank KO 5
  • Background: Eubank, ranked No. 1 by the WBA and No. 3 by the WBC, has his eye on a big prize. The 32-year-old Englishman reportedly could face either former titleholder Billy Joe Saunders or Liam Williams before the end of the year or early next year. However, he must get past Elbir in a stay-busy fight first. The 27-year-old Berliner has won consistently but has never faced anyone at Eubank’s level and has fought only his home country. Eubank has won four consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to then-titleholder George Groves in 2018, including a breakout decision over James DeGale in February 2019. He followed that with a second-round TKO over Matvey Korobov, who had to quit with an injury, and a one-sided decision over Marcus Morrison this past May. He has looked good under the tutelage of Roy Jones Jr.

[lawrence-related id=19858,3784]

***

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ (43-10, 17 KOs) VS. OLIVER FLORES (30-3-2, 19 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Oct. 2
  • Where: Verite Social Venue, Monterrey, Mexico
  • TV/Stream: ESPN+
  • Division: Junior welterweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: NA
  • Prediction: Vazquez UD
  • Background: Vazquez is still at it. The 34-year-old former lightweight champion, who reigned between 2010 and 2014, but is only 4-5 in his last nine fights and hasn’t recorded a significant victory since he outpointed Denis Shafikov more than seven years ago. The polished technician last fought in April, when he stopped journeyman Isai Hernandez Renteria in seven rounds at the same venue at which he’ll fight on Saturday. Vazquez lost a disputed split decision to Lewis Ritson the previous October in Ritson’s home country of England. Flores has experience against elite opposition but has come up short each time, losing by stoppage to Miguel Berchelt and Takashi Uchiyama and by decision to Felix Verdejo. The Nicaraguan has won back to back fights since the setback against Verdejo but hasn’t been in the ring since September 2019, two years ago.

[lawrence-related id=14761]

 

Judge apparently on phone during fight to appear before BBBofC

Boxing judge Terry O’Connor will appear before the BBBofC over an image appearing to show him on his phone while he was scoring a fight.

Boxing judge Terry O’Connor will appear before the British Boxing Board of Control over an image appearing to show him on his phone while he was scoring the Lewis Ritson-Miguel Vazquez fight Saturday.

Ritson won by a controversial split decision, with many neutral observers — and even Ritson’s promoter Eddie Hearn — believing Vazquez should have been awarded the victory.

O’Connor was one of two judges to score the fight in Ritson’s favor, but his 117-111 margin was the widest of all three judges. Hearn described the scoring as “a disgrace”.

A photo has emerged on social media that appeared to show O’Connor glancing down at his phone instead of watching the action in front of him as the fighters exchanged blows.

Hearn has suggested the judge should be removed from his position if the image proves to be an accurate representation of events.

The BBBofC released a statement saying: “Mr. O’Connor will appear before the Stewards of the British Boxing Board of Control following his appointment to the boxing tournament at the East of England Showground Arena on Saturday, 17th October 2020.”

Mauricio Sulaiman, WBC president, tweeted: “This image is extremely troubling to any person involved in boxing.”

The comments come as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed disgust over judge Julie Lederman’s 119-109 card for Teofimo Lopez in his unanimous-decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday. Arum believes 11 rounds to one was too wide.

[lawrence-related id=14817,14761,14776]

Judge apparently on phone during fight to appear before BBBofC

Boxing judge Terry O’Connor will appear before the BBBofC over an image appearing to show him on his phone while he was scoring a fight.

Boxing judge Terry O’Connor will appear before the British Boxing Board of Control over an image appearing to show him on his phone while he was scoring the Lewis Ritson-Miguel Vazquez fight Saturday.

Ritson won by a controversial split decision, with many neutral observers — and even Ritson’s promoter Eddie Hearn — believing Vazquez should have been awarded the victory.

O’Connor was one of two judges to score the fight in Ritson’s favor, but his 117-111 margin was the widest of all three judges. Hearn described the scoring as “a disgrace”.

A photo has emerged on social media that appeared to show O’Connor glancing down at his phone instead of watching the action in front of him as the fighters exchanged blows.

Hearn has suggested the judge should be removed from his position if the image proves to be an accurate representation of events.

The BBBofC released a statement saying: “Mr. O’Connor will appear before the Stewards of the British Boxing Board of Control following his appointment to the boxing tournament at the East of England Showground Arena on Saturday, 17th October 2020.”

Mauricio Sulaiman, WBC president, tweeted: “This image is extremely troubling to any person involved in boxing.”

The comments come as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed disgust over judge Julie Lederman’s 119-109 card for Teofimo Lopez in his unanimous-decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday. Arum believes 11 rounds to one was too wide.

[lawrence-related id=14817,14761,14776]

Good, bad, worse: We’re flipping over Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Lopez Jr. had his true coming out on Saturday, when he defeated pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

Teofimo Lopez (left) targeted Vasiliy Lomachenko’s gut from the opening bell. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

The ascension of a young prodigy is always something to behold.

Teofimo Lopez Jr., only 23, has been knocking on the door of stardom for some time. He took a significant step and generated excitement when he annihilated Richard Commey in two rounds to win a major lightweight title last December.

But he enjoyed his true coming out on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Lopez has said for a few years that he would beat pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko if they were to meet and then he did it, outboxing a boxing wizard to win a unanimous decision and become undisputed lightweight champion.

He fought carefully but with purpose in the first half of the fight, when Lomachenko was curiously inactive. And he showed the poise and determination of a more mature fighter when the Ukrainian rallied in the later rounds.

Lopez was particularly impressive in the 12th and final round, when he defied the instructions of his father-trainer by fiercely attacking Lomachenko to finish with a flurry.

Turns out he didn’t need to win that round. He won by scores of 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111, an astonishing outcome given Lomachenko’s track record and the relative inexperience of the Honduran-American. Boxing Junkie scored it 116-112 for the winner.

Lopez seemed to have special ability going into the fight but had yet to prove it. Now we know he’s the real deal.

***

BAD

Lomachenko (right) fought with the heart of a champion in the second half of the fight. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

We should applaud Lomachenko. He is a natural 130-pounder – at most – yet moved up to 135 in search of bigger challenges, which was risky. We saw vulnerabilities in him in victories over Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell at 135 that we hadn’t seen before.

And, on Saturday, he finally stretched himself too far. Linares and Campbell are good; Lopez obviously is a step up from him.

I don’t understand what Lomachenko was thinking in the first half of the fight. It made sense to fight carefully against a strong, big-puncher like Lopez but you can’t give away half the rounds as a result of inactivity and expect to win.

Lomachenko threw only 58 punches in the first six rounds, according to CompuBox. That’s 9.7 per round. And he landed an average of 4.2. That’s why he lost all those rounds on all three cards.

Yes, he was coming off a 14-month layoff. Yes, he’s going on 33. And, yes, he didn’t want to get caught with a big shot. Still, you have to let your hands go if you want to win.

Lomachenko engineered a valiant rally, picking up his work rate and trading punches toe-to-toe at times to give himself a chance and turn a so-so fight into entertaining one. Alas, it wasn’t enough. The great “Hi-Tech” had met his match. Lopez was too quick, too big and ultimately too good for him.

The loser might be kicking himself now, wishing he has been more active in the early rounds. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference, though. Lomachenko’s time seems to have passed.

***

WORSE

Lopez (left) appeared to do enough to beat Lomachenko but 11 rounds to one? Mikey Williams / Top Rank

More horrible scorecards reared their ugly heads on Saturday.

Julie Lederman is recognized a good judge. And she had the right man winning in the Lomachenko-Lopez fight, which is more important than the margin of victory. However, her score – 119-109 for Lopez – has baffled many and angered some. And rightfully so.

That score means she gave Lopez 11 of the 12 rounds. She gave Lomachenko only Round 11. Television commentator and former champion Andre Ward scored it 114-114, which was curious in the other direction. Others had it as close as 115-113 for Lopez.

Lomachenko seemed to win at least half of the final six rounds, which would’ve made the score 117-111 if you give Lopez the first six. He picked up his pace, he had Lopez on the defensive at times, he had the momentum.

Five rounds to one for Lopez in Rounds 7 to 12 just seemed out of whack.

Promoter Bob Arum said afterward that he would be happy if Lederman no longer worked bouts involving his fighters, which is probably overkill given Lederman’s track record, but his feelings are understandable.

And, sadly, that wasn’t the only rogue card on Saturday. Most observers believe that Miguel Vazquez did more than enough to earn a decision over Lewis Ritson in Peterborough, England. Somehow two judges scored it for Ritson — 115-113 and 117-111 – giving him a split-decision victory.

The 117-111 score from veteran judge Terry O’Connor was widely criticized. Nine rounds to three for Ritson? No way. That score was more disgraceful than Lederman’s because it would be impossible to justify and he had the wrong man winning.

To make matters worse, an image apparently showing O’Connor looking at his phone during the eighth round has emerged. He might be finished as a judge if an investigation confirms what we appear to see in the photo.

Once again, we can only hope the powers that be take steps to improve scoring.

[lawrence-related id=14814,14776]

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Good, bad, worse: We’re flipping over Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Lopez Jr. had his true coming out on Saturday, when he defeated pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

Teofimo Lopez (left) targeted Vasiliy Lomachenko’s gut from the opening bell. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

The ascension of a young prodigy is always something to behold.

Teofimo Lopez Jr., only 23, has been knocking on the door of stardom for some time. He took a significant step and generated excitement when he annihilated Richard Commey in two rounds to win a major lightweight title last December.

But he enjoyed his true coming out on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Lopez has said for a few years that he would beat pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko if they were to meet and then he did it, outboxing a boxing wizard to win a unanimous decision and become undisputed lightweight champion.

He fought carefully but with purpose in the first half of the fight, when Lomachenko was curiously inactive. And he showed the poise and determination of a more mature fighter when the Ukrainian rallied in the later rounds.

Lopez was particularly impressive in the 12th and final round, when he defied the instructions of his father-trainer by fiercely attacking Lomachenko to finish with a flurry.

Turns out he didn’t need to win that round. He won by scores of 116-112, 119-109 and 117-111, an astonishing outcome given Lomachenko’s track record and the relative inexperience of the Honduran-American. Boxing Junkie scored it 116-112 for the winner.

Lopez seemed to have special ability going into the fight but had yet to prove it. Now we know he’s the real deal.

***

BAD

Lomachenko (right) fought with the heart of a champion in the second half of the fight. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

We should applaud Lomachenko. He is a natural 130-pounder – at most – yet moved up to 135 in search of bigger challenges, which was risky. We saw vulnerabilities in him in victories over Jorge Linares and Luke Campbell at 135 that we hadn’t seen before.

And, on Saturday, he finally stretched himself too far. Linares and Campbell are good; Lopez obviously is a step up from him.

I don’t understand what Lomachenko was thinking in the first half of the fight. It made sense to fight carefully against a strong, big-puncher like Lopez but you can’t give away half the rounds as a result of inactivity and expect to win.

Lomachenko threw only 58 punches in the first six rounds, according to CompuBox. That’s 9.7 per round. And he landed an average of 4.2. That’s why he lost all those rounds on all three cards.

Yes, he was coming off a 14-month layoff. Yes, he’s going on 33. And, yes, he didn’t want to get caught with a big shot. Still, you have to let your hands go if you want to win.

Lomachenko engineered a valiant rally, picking up his work rate and trading punches toe-to-toe at times to give himself a chance and turn a so-so fight into entertaining one. Alas, it wasn’t enough. The great “Hi-Tech” had met his match. Lopez was too quick, too big and ultimately too good for him.

The loser might be kicking himself now, wishing he has been more active in the early rounds. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference, though. Lomachenko’s time seems to have passed.

***

WORSE

Lopez (left) appeared to do enough to beat Lomachenko but 11 rounds to one? Mikey Williams / Top Rank

More horrible scorecards reared their ugly heads on Saturday.

Julie Lederman is recognized a good judge. And she had the right man winning in the Lomachenko-Lopez fight, which is more important than the margin of victory. However, her score – 119-109 for Lopez – has baffled many and angered some. And rightfully so.

That score means she gave Lopez 11 of the 12 rounds. She gave Lomachenko only Round 11. Television commentator and former champion Andre Ward scored it 114-114, which was curious in the other direction. Others had it as close as 115-113 for Lopez.

Lomachenko seemed to win at least half of the final six rounds, which would’ve made the score 117-111 if you give Lopez the first six. He picked up his pace, he had Lopez on the defensive at times, he had the momentum.

Five rounds to one for Lopez in Rounds 7 to 12 just seemed out of whack.

Promoter Bob Arum said afterward that he would be happy if Lederman no longer worked bouts involving his fighters, which is probably overkill given Lederman’s track record, but his feelings are understandable.

And, sadly, that wasn’t the only rogue card on Saturday. Most observers believe that Miguel Vazquez did more than enough to earn a decision over Lewis Ritson in Peterborough, England. Somehow two judges scored it for Ritson — 115-113 and 117-111 – giving him a split-decision victory.

The 117-111 score from veteran judge Terry O’Connor was widely criticized. Nine rounds to three for Ritson? No way. That score was more disgraceful than Lederman’s because it would be impossible to justify and he had the wrong man winning.

To make matters worse, an image apparently showing O’Connor looking at his phone during the eighth round has emerged. He might be finished as a judge if an investigation confirms what we appear to see in the photo.

Once again, we can only hope the powers that be take steps to improve scoring.

[lawrence-related id=14814,14776]

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Lewis Riston defeats Miguel Vazquez by controversial decision

Lewis Riston defeated Miguel Vazquez by a controversial split decision Saturday in Peterborough, England.

Lewis Ritson might’ve gotten away with one Saturday in Peterborough, England.

Veteran Miguel Vazquez seemed to outbox his English opponent the majority of their 12-round junior welterweight fight yet Ritson was awarded a split-decision victory at East of England Arena.

One judge scored it for Vazquez 116-113 but two had Ritson winning, 117-111 and 115-113.

Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs) seemed to reach in his past in the fight. The former long-reigning lightweight titleholder employed an effective stickand-move strategy from the beginning.

Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) certainly had his moments — he was the bigger puncher — but was never really able to solve the riddle Vazquez presented.

“I think we won,” Ritson said immediately afterward. “I was confident that I won, although I knew it was close. I was hitting him with the cleaner shots and he was tap, tap, tap and running away.”

The decision seemed to shock the boxing community. Most will have pointed the 117-111 card — nine rounds to three — of Terry O’Connor with absolute disbelief.

Ritson is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. With the victory, he’s another step closer to his first shot at a major title.

Vazquez, a lightweight titleholder from 2010 to 2014, is now 3-5 in his last eight fights. Another setback might relegate him to irrelevance under normal circumstances. However, the 33-year-old Mexican demonstrated with his strong performance that he can still box.

Here is how some in the boxing community reacted.

 

 

 

 

 

Lewis Riston defeats Miguel Vazquez by controversial decision

Lewis Riston defeated Miguel Vazquez by a controversial split decision Saturday in Peterborough, England.

Lewis Ritson might’ve gotten away with one Saturday in Peterborough, England.

Veteran Miguel Vazquez seemed to outbox his English opponent the majority of their 12-round junior welterweight fight yet Ritson was awarded a split-decision victory at East of England Arena.

One judge scored it for Vazquez 116-113 but two had Ritson winning, 117-111 and 115-113.

Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs) seemed to reach in his past in the fight. The former long-reigning lightweight titleholder employed an effective stickand-move strategy from the beginning.

Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) certainly had his moments — he was the bigger puncher — but was never really able to solve the riddle Vazquez presented.

“I think we won,” Ritson said immediately afterward. “I was confident that I won, although I knew it was close. I was hitting him with the cleaner shots and he was tap, tap, tap and running away.”

The decision seemed to shock the boxing community. Most will have pointed the 117-111 card — nine rounds to three — of Terry O’Connor with absolute disbelief.

Ritson is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. With the victory, he’s another step closer to his first shot at a major title.

Vazquez, a lightweight titleholder from 2010 to 2014, is now 3-5 in his last eight fights. Another setback might relegate him to irrelevance under normal circumstances. However, the 33-year-old Mexican demonstrated with his strong performance that he can still box.

Here is how some in the boxing community reacted.

 

 

 

 

 

Lewis Ritson expects less pressure vs. Miguel Vazquez with no fans

Lewis Ritson says there will be less pressure when he fights Miguel Vazquez without spectators.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

***

Lewis Ritson fights in the Matchroom Boxing main event Saturday in Peterborough, England, but his big test against former titleholder Miguel Vazquez was supposed to have a much different feel.

Initially set for April 4 and then June 27, only for both cards to be scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the junior welterweight showdown could either propel Ritson into world title contention or return the Mexican to the big stage.

Promoter Eddie Hearn had a big crowd of Ritson’s local fans in mind when targeting the Utilita Arena in Ritson’s hometown of Newcastle for the show. Now a coronavirus-protected ‘bubble’ further South will have to suffice.

Will the lack of 10,000 fans cheering him on hinder Ritson’s chances? He doesn’t think so.

“I think it’ll be a lot less pressure on me with nobody there,” he said at the final pre-fight press conference. “I miss my fans, but there’ll be no pressure behind closed doors.

“I’ve been sparring with a lot of good fighters during lockdown. It’s really helped us in that respect. I’m ready more than ever. I haven’t watched a lot of Vazquez, but I know that when my coach gives me a game plan, I just need to follow it.

“We’re not going to look for a knockout, but we’ll see how it goes. When my coach tells me to step it up a gear, I will.”

Ritson was also fast to close down any discussion of future opponents until Saturday’s job is done.

“The next step is just trying to get past Vazquez,” he said. “I’m not looking at anyone else. If I can get past him, then we can start looking with names.”

Meanwhile, Vazquez, who fought Canelo Alvarez twice and a host of other top names in his lengthy professional career, is excited at the prospect of finally facing Ritson.

“We’ve been training for a long, long time,” the 33-year-old said via a translator. “I’m up against a really tough fighter. It’s a great opportunity, it’s a really big fight for me, and it’s not easy at all, which is why I’ve been preparing hard for this.

“People can expect a Miguel Vazquez that is ready to win and ready to fight for world titles again.”

[lawrence-related id=14638]

Lewis Ritson expects less pressure vs. Miguel Vazquez with no fans

Lewis Ritson says there will be less pressure when he fights Miguel Vazquez without spectators.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

***

Lewis Ritson fights in the Matchroom Boxing main event Saturday in Peterborough, England, but his big test against former titleholder Miguel Vazquez was supposed to have a much different feel.

Initially set for April 4 and then June 27, only for both cards to be scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the junior welterweight showdown could either propel Ritson into world title contention or return the Mexican to the big stage.

Promoter Eddie Hearn had a big crowd of Ritson’s local fans in mind when targeting the Utilita Arena in Ritson’s hometown of Newcastle for the show. Now a coronavirus-protected ‘bubble’ further South will have to suffice.

Will the lack of 10,000 fans cheering him on hinder Ritson’s chances? He doesn’t think so.

“I think it’ll be a lot less pressure on me with nobody there,” he said at the final pre-fight press conference. “I miss my fans, but there’ll be no pressure behind closed doors.

“I’ve been sparring with a lot of good fighters during lockdown. It’s really helped us in that respect. I’m ready more than ever. I haven’t watched a lot of Vazquez, but I know that when my coach gives me a game plan, I just need to follow it.

“We’re not going to look for a knockout, but we’ll see how it goes. When my coach tells me to step it up a gear, I will.”

Ritson was also fast to close down any discussion of future opponents until Saturday’s job is done.

“The next step is just trying to get past Vazquez,” he said. “I’m not looking at anyone else. If I can get past him, then we can start looking with names.”

Meanwhile, Vazquez, who fought Canelo Alvarez twice and a host of other top names in his lengthy professional career, is excited at the prospect of finally facing Ritson.

“We’ve been training for a long, long time,” the 33-year-old said via a translator. “I’m up against a really tough fighter. It’s a great opportunity, it’s a really big fight for me, and it’s not easy at all, which is why I’ve been preparing hard for this.

“People can expect a Miguel Vazquez that is ready to win and ready to fight for world titles again.”

[lawrence-related id=14638]