CONAH Walker was made to work for his success but eventually chugged past Lewis Ritson after 10 rounds of the Sunny Edwards-Galal Yafai chief supporting contest. The bout never really caught fire. Victor Loughlin scored it 98-93, while Lee Every and Kevin Parker both handed in scores of 97-93 to the Wolverhampton man who bounced back at the first time of asking following a loss to Belfast’s Lewis Crocker in the summer.
Walker opened up at the end of the first and suddenly Ritson looked a little ragged. The Newcastle banger kept his guard tight as Walker scurried and scrapped for openings, pushing down his man’s head, invoking the ire of referee Mark Lyson.
Walker managed to close the distance a little better at the start of the fifth. Potshotting with intent, Ritson stayed compact and tried to take centre ring again. Walker’s intense tempo was taking its toll by the eighth as Ritson lay on the ropes, trying to find moments of success. He was clearly tiring as the ‘Sandman’ looked mired in the depths.
The successes were few and far between for the veteran underdog as Walker’s coach Richie Ghent cautioned his man before the ninth of a counter-left hook. That was still on display, in increasingly shorter supply, as Ritson struggled to make it through the 10th and final round. The pair embraced after three minutes of punching pride.
Conah Walker takes his slate to 14-3-1 (5 KOs), while Lewis Ritson is now 23-5 (13 KOs) after what could be the final dance of a career that began in 2015 and really came to life around 2018.
