Lewis Ritson put on the performance of his fledging career to rip the British lightweight title from Robbie Barrett in Manchester.

In just his 13th professional bout the Forest Hall boxer dominated for seven rounds before Barrett’s trainer threw in the towel after a fourth knockdown from Ritson.

Such was Ritson’s dominance, Sky Sports – who televised the event live – wrote in their report that Ritson ‘destroyed’ the defending champion.

It was a masterful performance from the 24-year-old, boxing in black-and-white shorts in homage to his beloved Newcastle United.

As he’d predicted in the build-up he went straight on the front foot, while Barrett looked to counter on the back foot.

The problem for the now ex-champion was that he didn’t have the power to hurt Ritson, who was never deterred from coming forward to get in range to let his shots go.

The same could not be said of Ritson. He first showed his power in the second. An impressive left-right combination to the head sent Barrett down.

The 25-year-old Yorkshireman was not going to let the British title he’d won in his last fight in a shock win against Scotty Cardle go easily. He showed a lot of heart to stay in the contest, but rarely looked like troubling the far classier Geordie star.

His foothold on the contest improved only further when he scored two knockdowns in the sixth. Firstly, he displayed his speed to put together a big accumulation of punches to send Barrett down for a second time in the bout. Barrett was up again but in the same stanza, Ritson showed his brilliant shot variety by landing a body shot to send Barrett down again.

In pictures: Lewis Ritson wins the British title after great performance against Robbie Barrett
Robbie Barrett (left) in action against Lewis Ritson

VIEW GALLERY

By now holding on, another Ritson body shot in seventh signalled the beginning of the end. With Barrett on the canvas for a fourth time, his corner threw the towel in with the official time given as 2:27 of the seventh.

This was Ritson’s 13th win and his seventh to finish early. Impressively, since returning from Glasgow, where he’d been training with the esteemed Billy Nelson, to instead train with dad Dave and Owen Reay in Forest Hall, this was his fourth stoppage in five fights.

On paper this was a huge step-up for Ritson. Despite being a brilliant amateur, his early pro career had flown largely under the radar. But on the big show, under the bright lights, it was Ritson who shone brightest.

The 24-year-old harbours ambitions to go all the way to a world title, and he left many of Sky Sports’ viewers believing that was most definitely a realistic prospect.

He’s keen on taking the traditional route to that, however, and claiming the prestigious Lord Lonsdale belt was the first major step of his journey.

He’s now targeting another big fight next time out. He said after: “I’m over the moon with the victory and have always imagined being British champion.

“I felt a bit sorry for Barrett because I couldn’t really feel his power.

“Scott Cardle and Sean Dodd are two of the biggest names on the domestic scene so I would love to fight one of them next.”

Merseysider Dodd recently beat London 2012 Olympian Thomas Stalker to win the Commonwealth title, making a clash between he and Ritson seem like a logical next step for both.

Meanwhile, Ritson’s victory also confirmed how on the up North East boxing is currently.