Lewis Ritson has heaped praise on Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe - and still dreams of fighting at St James' Park.
The Geordie star is a season-ticket holder at Newcastle and has shown support for his boyhood club throughout his boxing career. Howe has the Magpies on the rise currently sitting in 14th position with a nine-point cushion from the drop.
Despite slumping to defeat against Everton before the international break, Ritson believes Howe should be backed with significant funds in the summer and allowed a chance to build an ambitious squad. "Eddie Howe’s doing an unbelievable job," he told Mirror Fighting . "People don’t realise how close we were to getting Unai Emery as a manager. When Howe first came in not many people were very happy about it but look at the job he is doing.
"He has been flying and you can’t say anything other than he is doing a great job. Hopefully he will keep us safe this year which it looks like he has done, and hopefully now they will give him some funds in the summer and build a great team for us.
"I think it is every lads dream to fight at St James' Park especially if you are big into football like me. I have been a season ticket holder for 12 years now. If we can get a fight there it would be a dream of mine but there is plenty of work to do before that and there are a couple of hard nights ahead of me."
Newcastle spent around £93million on revamping their squad in the January transfer window drafting in Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, England right-back Kieran Tripper, former Burnley striker Chris Wood and centre-half Dan Burn.
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They have since dramatically improved their form having won five of their last eight matches which has lifted spirits of the Magpies significantly in recent weeks. Ritson similarly is looking to continue a revival of boxing career after falling to a second defeat against Jeremias Ponce last year.
He will face former world champion Dejan Zlaticanin this Friday on home soil at the Utilita Arena Newcastle. Ritson is confident that this fight will be a vital stepping stone on the way to entering the world title mix.
“Maybe another fight like this then against a domestic fighter and we will be knocking on the door," Ritson continued. "It's a good time for everyone to be a 140lb fighter, [Josh] Taylor has made it no secret he is moving up so there are going to be four belts lined up there so I am ready to see how it plays out.
“This guy is an ex-world champion and he is well up there. If you beat him on Friday you are definitely classifying yourself at fringe world-level. Domestically or any fighters abroad we are willing to take all challenges and see where it gets us."
Lewis Ritson faces Dejan Zlaticanin at Probellum Throwdown in Newcastle on Friday, March 25 live in Eurosport TV, Eurosport App and discovery+
