Junior welterweight contender Lewis Ritson has shared his thoughts following his battle with Jeremias Ponce this past Saturday night in Newcastle – thanking his fans for their support shown during and after the fight.
Ritson gave it everything, but Ponce came out on top in the IBF super lightweight final eliminator as he scored three knockdowns to earn a tenth round stoppage win at the Vertu Motors Arena.
The Newcastle hero has now looked back on the contest.
Ritson revealed that he has no problem with the controversial moment, during the tenth, when his corner threw in the towel and referee elected to ignore it and threw the towel back out – which allowed the contest to continue and for Riston to take more punishment.
Ritson said: “I just want to say a massive thank you to the messages, support and to the fans last night. The noise was unbelievable. It felt like there was 10,000 in the arena, not 1000.
“We try to push ourselves in boxing and to the highest level we can. I’m honest and a realist and that next level seems a step to far for me. We’ll keep banging on the door and there’s loads of great fights out there for me.
“Truth be told I shouldn’t have even made it out of the first round and it took everything in me to do that. I kept fighting until the end. The corner told me I had one more round to change things or the towel was going in.
“I told Owen under no circumstances throw the towel in, and I have no problem with the referee throwing it out, he could have knocked me down 100 times and I would have got back up!
“I’ve tried to reach the level everyone dreams of and get a world title fight, and sadly we’ve tried and failed and aren’t at the level to get there, but being back home with my family is all that matters in the world to me.
“I’ve got my daughter and partner and another little girl on the way. Some family and time then the next move and next fight, I already have a few names given and I’m very excited!”