Ramirez and Cuello Score KOs in Libya; Fonseca Upsets Oumiha

Ramirez and Cuello Score KOs in Libya; Fonseca Upsets Oumiha

Boxing is a global sport and there was no better example than tonight’s card in Benghazi in the oil-rich Northern African nation of Libya. Among the listed co-promoters were Mexico’s Paco Damian, Canada’s Camille Estephan, and Uruguay’s Sampson Lewkowicz. The event was sponsored by the World Boxing Association (WBA) which is headquartered in Panama and the weigh-ins and matches were supervised by the Argentine Boxing Federation.

Three former Olympians appeared in the featured bouts. They represented Venezuela, Argentina, and France. Their opponents came from Mexico, New Zealand, and Nicaragua. While no U.S. boxers fought on the card, it did have something of an American tint as Mike Tyson was brought in as window dressing.

In a light heavyweight contest slated for 12, Albert Ramirez, a well-traveled, 33-year-old, Venezuelan southpaw, improved to 22-0 (19 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Jerome Pampellone. Ramirez put Pampellone on the canvas three times before the match was halted at the 1:19 mark of round seven.

This was a nice win for Ramirez, a 2016 Olympian who looks to be a legitimate threat to Dimitry Bivol or David Benavidez, the fighters above him in the WBA 175-pound pecking order. Pampellone, a New Zealander of Trinidadian descent, brought a 19-2 record with both of his defeats coming in tightly-contested 12-round affairs.

In a joke of a pairing considering the framework – it was billed for the WBA interim featherweight title — Argentina’s Mirco Cuello made short work of Sergio Rios, stopping the Mexican in the second round. Rios was on the canvas three times, the third the result of a body punch from which he failed to beat the count. The official time was 2:53 of round two.

The 24-year-old Cuello, a Tokyo Olympian with a wealth of amateur experience, improved to 16-0 (13 KOs). It was the first loss for the overmatched Rios (19-1) who was making his first start outside Mexico, had never appeared in a bout slated for more than 8 rounds, and had defeated only two fighters with winning records. In theory, Cuello’s next opponent will be the winner of next week’s title fight in Riyadh between Nick Ball and Sam Goodman.

The upset of the night was provided by Nicaraguan veteran Francisco Fonseca (37-4-2) who won a unanimous 10-round decision over Sofiane Oumiha (6-1), saddling the Frenchman with his first pro defeat.

It was the sixth straight win for Fonseca, a two-time world title challenger who some will remember for his 2020 bout with Ryan Garcia. (Fonseca was knocked out in the opening round.)

The lanky Oumiha, one of France’s most decorated amateurs, was a silver medalist in the Paris Summer Games. In round three, he got careless and suffered a flash knockdown, and he lost the final round or he would have theoretically retained his unbeaten record. The scores were 97-92 and 95-94 twice.

According to a WBA press release, the purpose of this event was to expand boxing’s global footprint “with the mission of promoting peace, inclusion, and athletic development.” Don King could not have phrased it any better.

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