Newcastle ace Lewis Ritson commits to a new five fight deal with Matchroom Boxing
The Newcastle ace landed the Lord Lonsdale belt for keeps last weekend on his home patch, drilling Paul Hyland Jnr inside a round in front of a raucous Metro Radio Arena crowd.
Ritson initially signed with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom after ripping the British Lightweight title from Robbie Barrett in seven rounds in Manchester in October and thrilled in quickfire defences earlier in the year, putting Joe Murray away in the opening round in Manchester in February then ending Scotty Cardle’s attempts to regain his old title in a two-round shootout.
The 24 year old will now target European honours and beyond, and the ‘Sandman’ is delighted to put pen to paper and continue his incredible rise with Hearn and Sky Sports.
“I’m delighted to extend my deal with Matchroom,” said Ritson. “It’s been a rapid rise but one that I have enjoyed fighting on the big stage live on Sky Sports.
“We’re going to keep busy and I can’t wait to see where we go from here, but I can’t get complacent I need to keep focused and keep winning.
“Since the Barrett fight we have fought everyone Eddie has presented to us no problem, I’m a fighter at the end of the day and have no problem jumping in there with anyone my team believe I’m ready for.
“The atmosphere in Newcastle was unreal. I had a little moment before the bell went to soak it all up. The plan is to return there in October and I hope we can continue to build.
“There’s no pressure on me to talk about St James’ Park, it’s an aspiration and something to aim towards – A year ago I was a massive underdog to win the British so let’s roll the dice and see where we end up.
“It’s been a fantastic year, everything is improving not just in the ring but in my home life as well as a result.
“The European title is the logical next step, I’d like to prove to myself I can win that which is a move up and there’s some talk of a fight in America before the close of the year but that’s all up to Eddie and the team to lock down and for me to keep doing what I do best.”
“I’ve been completely blown away with what Lewis has done over the past 8 months and last Saturday in Newcastle was epic,” said Hearn. “I think he is one of the most exciting fighters in World boxing right now and has a huge future in the sport.
“We are looking forward to working with Phil, Dave, Neil and the team in guiding him at the right pace to major titles. I really believe the Sky is the limit for Lewis Ritson.”