Ryan Aston vows to come back fighting
Dudley's Ryan Aston today vowed to come back fighting after his step up in class went up in smoke on Friday night.
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His dreams of lifting the IBF International light middleweight title live on BoxNation were destroyed in six rounds by the classy Ahmet Patterson.
Their 12-round bout only went half of the distance, with Aston down once in the fifth and twice in the sixth, with the first knockdown of the sixth ruled a low blow.
'Tank' showed his schooling but had no answer to the crafty work of 'the Punch Picker,' who disguised his punches beautifully, writes Craig Birch.
Some of Aston's defensive work badly let him down, but the blows that did the most damage would have been difficult to see.
It's back to the drawing board for the 24-year-old, who has lost all three of his major title shots. He's also won 18 (eight knockouts), with two draws.
This belt, which came with a top 15 world ranking with the IBF, followed on from defeats for the Midlands crown at light middle and middleweight.
The stylish southpaw had also dedicated the fight to Steve Gough, the late vice-president of Priory Park Boxing Club, where he was an amateur and now fights out of the pro section.
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Aston said: "I didn't feel myself in the ring. I can't explain how, I just wasn't feeling myself. But I'm taking nothing away from Ahmet Patterson.
"He performed well and the things I wasn't doing in the fight he capitalised on and fair play to him. I just felt disappointed in myself, as I can perform 100 times better than that.
"I need to learn from this and move on, as this is only a little blip. Having four-and-a-half weeks to prepare for the biggest fight of my career so far is still something I couldn't turn down.
"I appreciate all the support from my fans and my coaches and sponsors, who have helped out massively with this fight and my career thus far.
"This was in memory of Steve. It wasn't the result he would've wanted or anyone else of my team would've wanted, but I'll be back and learn from this."
Aston was busy from the opening bell, but it was Patterson who stepped in to land a left hand in the first meaningful blow of the fight.
He landed a left hook to the body himself but left himself wide open for a looping right hand from Patterson, which sailed over the top and pushed Aston back.
Another right from Patterson at close range also found its target, with Aston occasionally connecting with his trademark lefts.
He was elusive in range at the start of the second round, as Patterson wasted his shots for the first time in the bout. He took a right hook straight down the pipe, too.
The Londoner was back on top by the end of the session, though. Aston came off the worse when the two traded, with a right hook near the bell also testing his jaw out.
He tried to pile on the pressure in the third, coming forward to throw combinations but Patterson was almost always out of reach.
Patterson started to take over in the fourth, with Aston having to shrug off left and right hooks which were picked well.
Referee Marcus McDonnell warned Patterson for punching after the call to break, though, with Aston also told off for holding.
Aston took a hiding in the fifth round, with Patterson reeling off loaded right hands in a destructive spell. Four took their toll, resulting in a bloody nose.
He looked to have survived the round, though, before a right hook sent him running for cover. Patterson charged in, as Aston desperately looked to hold.
Another right hook as he retreated bowled him over, but he answered the count and headed to the corner at the bell for some welcome respite.
Patterson resumed his attack in the sixth and wobbled Aston with a right hook, before 'Tank' finally got some of his own offence going.
A left hook bruised Patterson as he paid the price for throwing a stray right, but it proved to be false hope. The man from East Dulwich finished the fight in brutal fashion.
A left hook of Patterson's own dazed Aston, who looked out on his feet after taking a right hand with his defences scrambled. He fell forward to the mat, which the referee ruled a slip.
Patterson moved downstairs, with Aston sinking to the canvas after taking a left hook to the body. It looked to be the end there and then.
Patterson scaled the turnbuckles in celebration, only for the man in the middle to rule it was a low blow. The contest continued.
Aston nearly survived the round again, but walked on to another right hand as Patterson waded in with hooks. A combination dumped him in the corner.
There was less than 20 seconds left of the sixth as he again rose, but McDonnell waved him off on his feet. There were no protests from the fighter or his corner.
Aston said: "The fight itself started OK. I was pushing him back with various shots. After the fourth, I kept doing the same things.
"I got frustrated with myself and started to look for big shots. I got caught a few times by doing this, I carried on and obviously got tagged a few more times.
"I got caught low and it really hurt, as you can imagine. I couldn't really hear what the referee was telling me, as there was a lot of shouting going on.
"I got up still hurt and got caught with a shot around the back of the ears. That didn't hurt, but it the referee stopped it. I was gutted, but he's only doing his job."
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