East of England Arena in Peterborough - In a junior welterweight clash, Lewis Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) was able to edge out a twelve round split decision over former world champion Miguel Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs). (photos by Mark Robinson)
There was controversy afterwards, as many observers believe Vazquez had done more than enough to edge it out, in a fight with many close rounds.
The scores were 116-113 for Vazquez, 117-111 for Riston, and 115-113 for Ritson.
Ritson was busier and more accurate in the early going. Vazquez was mostly just boxing on the backfoot and using a jab. By the fourth, Ritson began to focus on the body to slow down the constant movement of Vazquez.
Vazquez was having minor spurts of success here and there, with Ritson just coming forward and looking for big shots, but being unable to land them. Vazquez's lack of power was the story, as he was unable to make a dent when landing flush. On the other side, Ritson was unable to crack the iron chin of Vazquez.
There wasn't much as the fight played out. Ritson had stopped going to the body and resorted to following Vazquez around the ring. Riston was the more active of the two but wasn't landing much, with Vazquez throwing in small spurts when necessary and never stopped moving around while pecking with a jab to keep Ritson at bay.
