Results from the ‘Big A’ Where Lomachenko Upended Ortiz in a Bruising Tussle

Top Rank was at the Hulu Theater of Madison Square Garden tonight with a card featuring Vasiliy Lomachenko with an undercard that included four members of the five-man U.S. team from the Tokyo Olympics. Lomachenko was matched against Jamaine Ortiz who was defending his NABF lightweight title.

Ortiz, who fights out of Worcester, Massachusetts, was undefeated (16-0-1) coming in, but accorded scant chance of defeating the great Lomachenko. However, the New Englander certainly had his moments and was ahead after 10 of the 12 rounds on the scorecard of one of the judges and on the unofficial card of TV analyst Tim Bradley and on the card of this reporter scoring the ESPN+ fight at home.

The judges ultimately favored the Ukrainian wizard who had the crowd in his corner. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111.  Although there were no knockdowns, this was bruising tiff. Loma suffered bruising under his left eye in the opening round. The area around Ortiz’s left eye started turning purple in the fifth frame.

Lomachenko, who improved to 17-2 (11), is eyeing a fight with unified lightweight champion Devin Haney who was in attendance. Bob Arum, who has ties to both fighters, is on record as saying he will make the fight happen.

Co-Feature

Featherweight Robeisy Ramirez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Cuba, won his 10^th straight, improving to 10-1 (7 KOs), with a ninth-round stoppage of Jose Matias Romero, a 26-year-old Argentine subbing for Jessie Magdaleno who pulled out with a hand injury. The official time was 2:20 of round nine.

Ramirez, who trains in Las Vegas under the esteemed Ismail Salas, had Romero on the deck in the opening round after tagging him with back-to-back left hands, but needed eight more (largely uneventful) rounds to polish him off. Romero was on his feet when the fight was terminated, but Ramirez had backed him into a corner and snapped his head back with a vicious left and the stoppage was well-justified.

Other Bouts

Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr, a buzzsaw from Tulare, California, eliminated Ahmed Hefny in the third round of a sloppy heavyweight affair. The referee waived it off after Hefny fell to his knees after taking a clubbing punch behind his head.

Torrez Jr improved to 4-0 (4 KOs). His first three fights consumed only 185 seconds in the aggregate. A 38-year-old Brooklyn-based Egyptian, Ahmed Hefny brought a 13-2 record with both of his losses coming by split decision, but his wins were forged against a motley assortment of opponents.

In an 8-round featherweight match, Cincinnati’s Duke Ragan (8-0, 1 KO) was awarded a unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Luis Lebron (18-5-1). The scores were 77-75, 78-74, and an irresponsible 79-73. Lebron, who has repeatedly been matched tough, had the best round of the fight – round seven—and the crowd booed the decision.

Middleweight Nico Ali Walsh improved to 7-0 (6) with a six-round unanimous decision over Great Falls, Montana, construction worker Billy Wagner (5-3-1) who gave Ali a few anxious moments when he let his hands go freely. Ali Walsh remains very much a work in progress.

In a welterweight match, Delante “Tiger” Johnson improved to 6-0 (4) with a 6-round unanimous decision over Esteban Garcia. Johnson won every round on all three cards, but the spunky Garcia (15-2) acquitted himself well, pressing the action and making it warm for the ex-Olympian.

In an 8-round middleweight match, Troy Isley improved to 8-0 (4) with a unanimous decision over Quincy Lavallais (14-4-1). Lavallais, from Kenner, Louisiana, was a willing mixer, but a level below the Virginian. The scores were 79-73 and 80-72 twice.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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