Friday 12 October 2018 11:42, UK
Tony Bellew believes Lewis Ritson is a new boxing hero for the north east who can follow in his footsteps by fighting at a football stadium...
I would love to see him fight at St James' Park, he's a proper football fan. I don't even think it's in question. He will do it.
I've been to Newcastle twice now and it's a brilliant atmosphere. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, it's like the second coming of Scott Harrison. I see so many similarities in the way he fights, his no-nonsense style, his strength, his power, his size.
It's a matter of time for Ritson. I'll think he'll absolutely blast out Francesco Patera on Saturday night, I really think he will. He'll look indestructible. Anybody on a domestic level and anybody on European level, he'll go through them like a hot knife through butter.
Don't get me wrong, when you go to world level, you need a little bit more, but he will have it. He needs a bit more experience with a better calibre of opponents.
The north east is a sleeping giant for boxing in Britain, and Lewis Ritson is really the man to wake it up.
He's a sensation, I'm raving on him at the minute, and I'm excited because the north east, in my opinion, has never had what they could possibly have with Lewis Ritson. Somebody who can fill arenas on a regular basis.
The north east is a sporting nation on its own. They attract huge crowds of football fans on a Saturday, whether it's Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough - they fill these places up.
Football and boxing can go hand in hand. If they turn up to the football, I think they turn up to the boxing. The north east is a sleeping giant for boxing in Britain, and Lewis Ritson is really the man to wake it up.
Watch Lewis Ritson's European title fight against Francesco Patera in Newcastle, with Joshua Buatsi and David Allen also on the bill at the Metro Radio Arena, Saturday, from 7pm on Sky Sports Action.
