Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez put his undefeated record and his WBO world 168-pound title on the line tonight when he faced Jesse Hart at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, in a rematch of their 2016 encounter in Tucson. In that fight, Ramirez, a 27-year-old southpaw from Mazatlan, Mexico, won a unanimous, albeit narrow, decision.

This fight was similar in many respects. Ramirez started fast and was clearly ahead at the mid-point, but Hart, as in the first meeting, fought his way back into the fight. Somewhere around the eighth round, Zurdo appeared to injure his left elbow and it impacted his punch count. But in the final stanza, he reached down deep and turned the tide back in his favor. Two judges scored it 115-113 and the other had it a draw, meaning that Ramirez retained his title via a majority decision while improving his record to 39-0. He is the only fighter to beat Jesse Hart whose record now stands at 25-2.

Ramirez had his eye on a bout with Canelo Alvarez which would be a unification fight at 168 pounds if Canelo performs as expected against Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden, but after the bout Zurdo changed his tune and said he intended to move up to 175 pounds. Bob Arum had hinted that he would like to match Zurdo against Gennady Golovkin in a bout that would likely be contested at catchweight (165 pounds or thereabouts).

The semi-windup between junior welterweights Arnold Barboza Jr. of Los Angeles and Denver’s Manuel Lopez was a monotonous, one-sided affair. Barboza (19-0, 7 KOs) won all 10 rounds on all three scorecards. Lopez (14-3-1) was game but outclassed. Barboza is highly skilled but doesn’t have a high ceiling because his punches don’t pack a wallop.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

Chicago super bantamweight Joshua Greer (19-1-1) had no trouble with Daniel Lozano (15-6), hurting Lozano repeatedly until Lozano had no more fight left in him. The contest, slated for 10 rounds, ended in the seventh. Greer has won 15 straight.

In a six-round contest, 18-year-old Gabriel Flores Jr. (11-0, 5 KOs) dominated Uganda’s Edward Kakembo (10-6) en route to winning a lopsided decision (60-52 in all three cards). Flores had Kakembo down and hurt in the first round but couldn’t finish him off. Bob Arum has big plans for Flores, but the precocious lightweight needs to improve his punching power. His last five starts have gone the distance.

In an all-Mexico affair between junior featherweights, Mazatlan’s Jesus Arechiga (7-0) won a four round unanimous decision over Guerrero’s David Martino (6-6). The 18-year old Arechiga had won his six previous pro fights by stoppage.

Former U.S. Olympian Mikaela Mayer improved to 9-0 with an eight round unanimous decision over Columbian journeywoman Calista Silgado (17-11-3).

In a lightweight contest, Jamel Herring (19-2) won a lopsided eight round decision over Adeilson Dos Santos. All three judges had it 80-70. Herring had Dos Santos on the deck in the second frame, but the Brazilian lasted the distance. A former U.S. Marine and the captain of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, Herring, 33, left Al Haymon’s PBC operation for Top Rank in January of this year and is currently a stablemate of Terence Crawford. It was the third straight loss for Dos Santos who declined to 19-6.

In a six round affair between super bantamweights, Ruben Vega (11-0-1) and Oscar Mojica (11-5-1) fought to a draw.

In the opening bout of the nine-bout card, a four-round welterweight match, Alcibiade Duran-Galvin (2-0, 2 KOs) needed only 55 seconds to dismiss Brownsville southpaw Leonardo Pena (0-3). Duran-Galvin, 30, who fights out of the Miami area, claims to be the son of Roberto Duran.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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