Lee McGregor Loses Some Luster in Draw with Diego Alberto Ruiz
At the York Hall in London, England world-ranked Scottish bantamweight contender “Lightning” Lee McGregor (11-0-1, 9 KOs) faced Argentinian Diego Alberto Ruiz (23-4-1, 12 KOs) in a ten-round contest. Pundits in the UK have high hopes for the hard-hitting Scot, who has shown plenty of promise and been moved swiftly by his handlers.
Having captured the Commonwealth, British, and European bantamweight titles on domestic shores, the 25-year-old is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies (3rd IBF, 6th WBA, 11th WBO). He took on a Ruiz, who carried the reputation of being a tough and very durable southpaw.
A GOOD ONE EARLY
The aggressive McGregor started matters pumping the jab. Tall for the division at 5’8”, he’s a good body puncher and pounded Ruiz with hooks and uppercuts on the inside.
Understanding that he was in against the stronger guy, the Argentine stayed on the move, choosing to box and counterpunch with some success. This was a very competitive fight early on.
CLOSE THROUGHOUT
McGregor tried to up the pace and fight with more intensity in the middle rounds. But, Ruiz was right there to answer back on nearly every occasion. Whenever McGregor would land with a salvo of shots, Ruiz countered with shots of his own to the head and the body. The only measurable difference was McGregor’s slightly higher work-rate.
NOT YET WORLD-LEVEL READY
As with all British non-title fights, the referee is the sole judge. Referee Kieran McCann scored the fight a draw (95-95). In this reporter’s opinion, McGregor did enough during the fight to earn the verdict. However, he was forced to work hard throughout, and his performance was underwhelming. Despite his high world ranking, questions will now be raised about McGregor after this fight. He has a lot of work to do moving forward if he hopes to win a world title.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
