A highly-anticipated grudge match takes place this weekend in Newcastle upon-Tyne as hometown hero Lewis Ritson faces Liverpudlian super lightweight Robbie Davies Jr.
Both fighters became embroiled in a heated backstage confrontation at the NXTGEN card in Liverpool on August 3rd, and the stage was set for their long-awaited showdown after they both racked up third-round stoppage victories on the same bill against Marek Jedzewjewski and Michal Dufek respectively.
Before moving up to super lightweight, Ritson enjoyed significant success as lightweight, winning the Lord Lonsdale belt outright with successive wins over Joe Murray, Scott Cardle and Paul Hyland Jr.
However, his momentum was halted after suffering a devastating setback to Belgian Francisco Patera in October last year, and will be looking to rebound with a vengeance with a big statement against a rival in a high-profile fight.
Like his Geordie counterpart, Davies has also suffered a career setback against Michal Syrowatka in July 2017 but unlike Ritson, Davies avenged the loss several months’ later.
The Scouser captured the British and Commonwealth titles, outpointing Glenn Foot on the Ritson-Patera card, before defeating Joe Hughes to become European champion alongside his collection of domestic accolades.
Davies is visibly the bigger man and the more experienced super lightweight, and believes he is also physically stronger than his opposite number.
Ritson, meanwhile, is a calculated pressure fighter and a concussive puncher with a noted penchant for mixing it up to the body.
Ultimately, the Geordie appears to be rejuvenated at the weight, and it would not be entirely unreasonable to believe that Davies will not able to withstand the onslaught to the body as Ritson inflicts him with his second career defeat.
Preview by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________