Fast Results from Texas: Ramirez TKOs Hooker; Farmer W 12 Frenois

The next chapter in British promoter Eddie Hearn’s invasion of the United States unfolded tonight on the campus of UT-Arlington in the Lone Star State of Texas. For his main go, Hearn borrowed WBC 140-pound champion Jose Carlos Ramirez from Top Rank (it cost him a bundle) and pitted him against his WBO counterpart Maurice Hooker.

It was an attractive pairing and not just because it was a unification fight. It was hard to pick a winner. Ramirez, a 2012 Olympian, closed a small favorite after opening as the underdog. And when the smoke cleared, the “smarts” outsmarted the oddsmaker. In a fight that was shaping up as a Fight of the Year candidate, Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) ended matters in the sixth frame, winning by TKO to saddle Hooker (26-1-3) with his first defeat. A barrage of punches beginning with a pair of hard lefts left Hooker out on his feet, his back against the ropes, and referee Mark Nelson rightfully jumped in and stopped it. The official time was 1:49.

Hooker, from nearby Oak Cliff, was fighting an undefeated opponent for the fifth straight time. With his long arms, he had a 7 ½-inch reach advantage over Ramirez, but yet he allowed Ramirez to repeatedly get inside. A controversial knockdown in the opening round, caused when Ramirez stepped on his foot, put Hooker in an immediate hole.

Jose Carlos Ramirez now owns two of the four meaningful 140-pound belts. The winner of the fight between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 5, will own the other two. Perhaps next year we will have an undisputed 140-pound champion.

Co-Feature

The co-feature saw IBF 130-pound title-holder Tevin Farmer successfully defend his belt with a unanimous decision over feather-fisted Frenchman Guillaume Francois. Farmer, who had a point deducted for low blows in round 10, won by scores of 119-108 and 116-111 twice.

This was a battle of southpaws. More often that not, southpaw vs. southpaw makes for a dull fight and here was another example. The fault lay primarily with Francois who was 46-1-1 coming in but didn’t fight with much fire in his belly and was nowhere as good as his record would suggest. His best round was the 12^th, but by then Farmer had such a comfortable lead that he could afford to relax.

Philadelphia’s Farmer, who was 7-4-1 at one point in his career, has now gone 24 fights without tasting defeat (a loss by split decision to Kenichi Ogawa in December of 2017 was reconfigured into a no-contest when Ogawa tested positive for a banned substance). He has his eye on a unification fight with Gervonta Davis, but that isn’t likely to materialize soon.

Other Bouts of Note

New Haven, CT featherweight Tramaine Williams, a 26-year-old southpaw, stepped up in class and passed the test with a unanimous decision over Yenifel Vicente in a rather messy but entertaining 10-rounder. The scores were 96-92 and 97-91 twice. There were no knockdowns, but referee Laurence Cole deducted Vicente a point for low blows in round six and once again in round seven.

Williams, whose career was twice interrupted by legal problems, causing him to miss all of 2014 and all of 2016, improved to 19-0. Vicente (35-4-2), from Miami by way of the Dominican Republic, entered the contest having won his last 10 by stoppage.

Heavyweight Joey Dawejko, who physique-wise bears an uncanny resemblance to Andy Ruiz Jr, improved to 20-7-4 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Rodney Hernandez (13-8-2). This was rematch. Their previous meeting, an 8-rounder, was ruled a draw.

A roofer by trade from Philadelphia, Dawejko sparred with Anthony Joshua in preparation for Joshua’s match with Ruiz. A spoiler from Modesto who had won three straight-coming in (against opponents who were a combined 40-1), Hernandez was a late sub for former cruiserweight title-holder Murat Gassiev.

There were no knockdowns. Dawejko won by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 twice.

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