Boxing Veteran Ramirez Secures Comprehensive Decision Win
Former unified world champion Jose Ramirez may have propelled himself back into world title contention following a decisive victory over two-weight former titlist Rances Barthelemy in a welterweight main event at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California, on Saturday night.
Ramirez, who previously held the WBC and WBO junior welterweight titles before losing them in a unification bout with Josh Taylor in 2021, started the fight brightly. He pressured Barthelemy in the opening two rounds, digging hooks to the body that he frequently transitioned into uppercuts to score against the taller opponent. However, the veteran Barthelemy remained composed, content to counter-punch as Ramirez did the work.
The fight ignited in the third round when a Barthelemy left hand appeared to stun Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs). A follow-up sequence saw Ramirez briefly touch the canvas, but referee Jack Reiss ruled it a push. Ramirez came back with renewed vigor, only to be caught by another Barthelemy straight left before the end of the round.
“It wasn’t the best performance of my career,” Ramirez acknowledged. “I got too excited. I could hear people call my name, and I saw people I recognized. I got a little too distracted. I got hit with one punch, and he got motivated. If that hadn’t happened, I think I would have broken his spirit. I fought twice in the last three years, so I was a little rusty. But hey, you live, you learn.”
The same punch troubled Ramirez in the opening minute of the fourth, but he persevered, spending the rest of the round unleashing vicious body shots to regain his composure. Ramirez seemed to wrest back control in the fifth, mauling and pressuring Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs) along the ropes. However, Barthelemy continued to find success with his straight left, landing three in succession in the sixth round that appeared to trouble Ramirez.
From that point on, Ramirez gained the upper hand. He held his right hand higher and started jabbing his way in, limiting Barthelemy’s opportunities to land his favored counter-punch. By the 11th round, Barthelemy looked weary from the constant Ramirez assault, and referee Reiss warned the Cuban’s corner that he would stop the fight if Barthelemy continued to languish on the ropes.
Barthelemy showed more life in the final round to ensure he went the distance, but the decision was a formality, with the scores of 119-109 (twice) and 118-110 arguably undervaluing Barthelemy’s success in the first half of the fight.
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