By Elliot Foster
Jack Arnfield shocked the Manchester Arena by outpointing John Ryder.
The middleweight grabbed the WBA International crown from Ryder on points on all three judges’ scorecards, exclusively live on Sky Sports.
Arnfield, who has challenged or the British title against Nick Blackwell previously, moves to 21-2 with the victory, while Ryder loses his belt and slips to 23-3 (12 KOs).
Blackpool’s Arnfield will now be hoping to get another shot at the Lonsdale belt, a crown that Ryder has fought for twice, and has urged Tommy Langford, who is scheduled to contest the vacant bauble against the next available contender after the relinquishment by Chris Eubank Jr. last week, to take up the challenge.
"It was a close fight,” Arnfield told Sky Sports afterwards. “I thought I nicked it. I was hitting him with jabs, maybe 50 a round some rounds. They were scoring shots. He landed on the inside but overall I was more effective.
"Chris Eubank Jr. just vacated [the British title]. Tommy Langford [who will fight on October 22 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff] is without a partner so let's get it on. We're just four weeks away."
The judges at ringside scored the fight in favour of Arnfield by unanimous decision and margins were 117-114, 118-110 and 115-114.
