PADDY ‘The Real Deal’ Donovan, unbeaten in 13 outings as a professional, will fight Lewis Ritson in the latest defence of his World Continental Welterweight title at the First Direct Arena, Leeds, on Saturday night (May 25)
The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Already there is much speculation that Limerick man Donovan (25) will have a dream outing with Lewis Crocker (Belfast) in an All-Ireland welterweight battle later in the year. Crocker holds the World Inter-Continental crown.
“I do not look past any opponent,” Donovan told irish-boxing.com. “I know Ritson is a really good opponent for me at this stage of my career. I’m really excited to be ranked No. 11 in the world and I’m checking all the boxes in training to be ready for any fighter, Lewis first, and then we can move on to beating whoever my managers and promoter put in front of me.”
“This is the fight I need, the challenge that will prepare me for bigger fights, especially against Crocker, or anyone else.
“This is the biggest test of my career, every fight from now is like my world title fight. I believe he will throw caution to the wind early in the fight, but I will match him for everything he does, and I’m going into the ring to win every battle, every moment, every round, and every fight.
“Under the trusted eye of trainer and co-manager, Andy Lee, I am confident Paddy will be primed and ready to showcase his boxing skills and punching power at the weekend,” commented Keith Sullivan, Donovan’s co-manager. “This is Paddy’s breakout year. I don’t envy anyone we match him against, because he’s on a mission to fight for a world title.”
Trainer Andy Lee said that “there’s no way Paddy’s looking past Lewis Riston.”
“Ritson’s a very experienced campaigner and at one stage he was the top man in England. We expect a tough, tough fight.
“Ritson’s moving up in weight, which I think will better suit him, probably bringing out the best in him, because I think he struggled to make the lighter weight for some time now.
He conclued: “We’re expecting a hard fight, but Paddy’s training has been excellent. He’s in great form and sparring plenty of rounds, so I expect Paddy to come out the winner.”
