Results from Abu Dhabi Where Dmitry Bivol Outclassed ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez

The marquee event on today’s boxing docket was in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where Dmitry Bivol risked his WBA light heavyweight title against former WBO 168-pound title-holder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in a battle between two 31-year-old unbeatens.

Bivol was favored in the 4/1 range, but there was late money on the Mexican, a former WBO world super middleweight title-holder who had outgrown the weight class and entered the ring looking as if he had rehydrated into a large cruiserweight. However, Zurdo’s physical advantages counted for nothing once the bell rang as Dmitry, who is from Kyrgyzstan but trains in California’s Coachella Valley, simply had too much class for him.

The first four rounds were relatively close although it was hard to make a case for Ramirez. The next five rounds were more one-sided in favor of the defending champion who took his foot off the gas in round 10 or the scores would have been more lopsided. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 twice.

Ramirez entered the contest with a 44-0 (30) record that included a 6-0 mark in world title fights, but the jury was still out on him as it was hard to identify a signature win. Bivol, 21-0 (11), is accustomed to going 12 rounds. Each of his previous seven fights went the full 12.

Bivol cracked many pound-for-pound lists after upsetting Canelo Alvarez. With today’s performance, he will inevitably get bumped up higher, perhaps into the top three or four. Bivol also set the wheels in motion for what will rank among the most anticipated light heavyweight bouts in history, a match between him and Montreal-based Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), a fascinating style match-up. However, the two fighters have different promoters, so Dmitry Bivol’s braintrust may want to delay this confrontation until the 37-year-old Beterbiev gets a little longer in the tooth.

Co-Feature

Northampton, England’s Chantelle Cameron, a 9/5 favorite, defeated Chicago’s Jessica McCaskill by unanimous decision (97-93, 96-94, 96-94) and is now the undisputed women’s world champion at 140 pounds. Cameron built up a substantial lead that McCaskill could not overcome with her late rally.

Cameron, 31, improved to 17-0. The 38-year-old McCaskill, a late bloomer best known for her two triumphs over Cecilia Braekhus, fell to 12-3 while seeing her 7-fight winning streak come to a halt. She was dropping down in weight and retains her welterweight diadems.

Other Bouts

Shavkat Rakhimov, who trains with Freddie Roach in Los Angeles, became the first fighter from Tajikistan to win a world title when he rallied from a third-round knockdown to grab the vacant IBF 130-pound belt with a ninth-round stoppage of Zelfa Barrett.

A right uppercut from Barrett was properly ruled a knockdown when Rakhimov was held up by the ropes. But Barrett faded and was on the canvas twice himself in round nine before his corner tossed in the towel. At the time, Barrett’s output had significantly declined which may have been the residue of an ankle injury.

Rakhimov, a southpaw, improved to 17-0-1 (14). Zelfa Barrett a 29-year-old Mancunian, lost for the second time in 30 starts. Waiting in the wings is super featherweight banger Joe Cordina, the “Welsh Wizard,” who has dibs on the winner when his injured hand has healed.

In a 10-round flyweight match, Birmingham’s Galal Yafai, at age 29 the youngest of three fighting bothers and a gold medal winner in the Tokyo Olympics, improved to 3-0 (2) with a majority decision over spunky but feather-fisted Gohan Rodriguez Garcia (12-2-1), a 22-year-old Mexican making his first appearance outside Mexico. The scores were 96-95, 96-94, and 95-95.

In the DAZN opener, former WBA 115-pound title-holder Khalid Yafai, a 2008 Olympian, overcame a big scare in the opening round to post a unanimous decision over Jerald Peclar of the Philippines. A straight right hand put Yafai on the deck with scarcely a minute gone in the opening round and it was touch-and-go whether Yafai would make it to the bell. But by round four he was back in the fight and steadily pulled away.

Th judges had it 95-94 and 96-93 twice for Yafai (27-1) who suffered a bad defeat to Chocolatito Gonzalez in his previous outing and was making his first start in 33 months. Peclar declined to 16-6-3.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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