We can add Jeremias Ponce’s name to the list of relentless, strong, and aggressive Argentine ring warriors. 140-pound machine Ponce, who was nothing short of superb last night in Newcastle, has arrived on the big stage courtesy of his tenth-round stoppage win over Lewis Ritson.
Fighting at an astonishing pace, one he was able to maintain, the 24-year-old was too physically strong for Ritson. Ponce, who took some shots but was never hurt, went to the body with painful effectiveness and his power got the job done in that tenth round.
Coming into last night’s fight, Ponce was talking big but we didn’t know how good he really was.
Now we know. Now 28-0(18) Ponce rose to the occasion in great style and now, with Ritson’s career in tatters, the man from Buenos Aires is Josh Taylor’s IBF mandatory challenger.
Taylor is a magnificent fighter as we all know, truly one of the pound-for-pound best in the world today, but Ponce has definitely earned his shot.
Taylor must accommodate another mandatory challenger of his, in Jack Catterall, and the Scottish hero has spoken of moving up in weight to welterweight (and maybe into a dream fight with Terence Crawford), so maybe Ponce will not get the chance to fight Taylor.
That said, as good/great as he looked in hammering the game but eventually overwhelmed Ritson, it would be very interesting to see how Taylor would handle Ponce – if he could handle him.
We may well have a new star of the 140-pound division. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see Ponce back in action. As for 27-year-old Ritson, now 21-2(12), it could prove to be a hard road back.
Ritson was, in the opinion of many, given a gift of a decision win over Miguel Vazquez in his last fight back in October of last year. Last night, Ritson was well and truly beaten.
Just what is it that makes Argentine fighters so darn tough!