Ramirez retains WBC 140lb title in war

By David Robinett at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

In a thrilling slugfest between undefeated fighters in their prime, WBC super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez (23-0, 16 KOs) scored a pair of knockdowns en route to a hard-fought unanimous decision over Antonio Orozco (27-1, 17 KOs) in the main event of Top Rank on ESPN from Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. All three judges scored the bout 119-107 in a fight that was closer than those scores indicated.
Ramirez Orozco Sumio
Both fighters started quickly, trading punches to the head and body but it was Ramirez, who couldn’t miss with the left hand, who shaded the round. After a Ramirez left hook caused Orozco to stumble backward at the beginning of round two, Orozco recovered quickly and seemed to edge the next two rounds, getting off a little faster and a little more accurately than Ramirez. The fight changed in round four, when Ramirez dropped Orozco with a right to the chin during a fierce exchange. Orozco beat the count but Ramirez was all over him, with the crowd roaring for a knockout. To his credit, Orozco fought off Ramirez until Ramirez eased up for a quick breather.

After the fourth round, Orozco would have stretches where he would outbox Ramirez by getting off first and by making Ramirez miss or land on Orozco’s shoulders and elbows with skillful head and upper body movement. But every time Orozco seemed to box his way back into the fight, Ramirez would land a big shot or combination that would put Orozco on his heels. In round eight a double left hook to body dropped Orozco for the second time in the fight. Orozco was clearly in pain but got back up off the canvas, only to be greeted by another double left hook to the body that dumped him onto the bottom rope and could have been called a third knockdown, but Orozco was up before the referee got a clean look. Ramirez went after Orozco hard the remainder of the round, but couldn’t take out his gutty opponent. The fight ebbed and flowed through the championship rounds, but as was the case up to that point, each time Orozco tried to fight his way back into the fight, Ramirez would land a big shot and reestablish control.

In defeat, Orozco’s stock rightfully suffers little if any, but with such an exciting win, Jose Ramirez may start to threaten Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford as the top stars in Top Rank’s stable.


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