Lewis Ritson returns with a win but looks pedestrian at best!
Lewis “The Sandman” Ritson at one point was seen as one of the more promising prospects in the sport. That is until he met Francesco Patera in October 2018.
Patera was able to withstand the aggression of “The Sandman” early to exploit the many defensive flaws of his opponent in route to a split decision victory. The 25 year-old British prospect was simply out-boxed.
In Ritson’s return in a new division against German Benitez, he showed he had not learned much from the loss. While he would put one in the win column again, he still exhibited the same flaws that cost him his undefeated record. He would start fast as normal; breaking Benitez down.
However, as the fight wore on, he would repeatedly be hit with shots straight down the middle. Additionally, the British prospect would still found himself being countered over his jab by repeated chopping right hands.
The difference in this fight was that Ritson banked enough of the early rounds to get the nod. He didn’t particularly fade until the seventh round, which by then he had already won arguably five out of six rounds.
The takeaway here could be, “if this were a twelve round fight, this could have been a different fight!”
Nevertheless, “The Sandman” pulled out the victory by unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92 twice). Although, it may not be one which provides much motivation as his return produced more questions about his abilities than answers!
By: EJ Williams
