Lewis Riston defeats Miguel Vazquez by controversial decision

Lewis Ritson might’ve gotten away with one Saturday in Peterborough, England.

Veteran Miguel Vazquez seemed to outbox his English opponent the majority of their 12-round junior welterweight fight yet Ritson was awarded a split-decision victory at East of England Arena.

One judge scored it for Vazquez 116-113 but two had Ritson winning, 117-111 and 115-113.

Vazquez (42-10, 16 KOs) seemed to reach in his past in the fight. The former long-reigning lightweight titleholder employed an effective stickand-move strategy from the beginning.

Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) certainly had his moments — he was the bigger puncher — but was never really able to solve the riddle Vazquez presented.

“I think we won,” Ritson said immediately afterward. “I was confident that I won, although I knew it was close. I was hitting him with the cleaner shots and he was tap, tap, tap and running away.”

The decision seemed to shock the boxing community. Most will have pointed the 117-111 card — nine rounds to three — of Terry O’Connor with absolute disbelief.

Ritson is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. With the victory, he’s another step closer to his first shot at a major title.

Vazquez, a lightweight titleholder from 2010 to 2014, is now 3-5 in his last eight fights. Another setback might relegate him to irrelevance under normal circumstances. However, the 33-year-old Mexican demonstrated with his strong performance that he can still box.

Here is how some in the boxing community reacted.