Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez KOs Giovanni Lorenzo in Vegas

LAS VEGAS-Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez pounded out an impressive knockout victory over perennial contender Giovanni Lorenzo (33-7) in a super middleweight fight on Friday.

Mexico may have another super middleweight to rival Julio Cesar Chavez as Ramirez (28-0, 22 Kos), a tall southpaw with power, proved too strong and determined against New York City’s Lorenzo, on the card which ran on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Guess what?

Ramirez will be fighting next on the Chavez-Gennady “GGG” Golovkin fight on July 19, at the Inglewood Forum. Top Rank wants to showcase the all-action fighter in front of the L.A. crowd.

The very angular Ramirez didn’t waste time feeling out Lorenzo and immediately looked to bomb out the gray-haired slugger. The New Yorker was clever in trying to catch the young Mexican with counter rights. A few landed but nothing seemed to affect Ramirez.

Soon, Ramirez began to attack the body and that spelled doom for Lorenzo. A 10-punch combination that began with a left to the body ended with Lorenzo taking a knee in round three. A few rounds later body shots dropped Lorenz against in the fifth. He survived but a right to the head sent Lorenzo down again. His corner stopped the fight at 2:47 of round five for a technical knockout win for Ramirez, who takes home the NABO and NABF super middleweight titles.

“It’s very important for me to win impressively on the eve of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight,” Ramirez said.

Other bouts

Jesse Hart (13-0, 10 Kos) steamrolled over Samuel Clarkson (10-3, 6 Kos) during the first five rounds including two knockdowns. After that, Clarkson seemed to adjust and was able to land some blows during the many clinches of Hart. Hart won every round and the NABF title, but relies on primarily on holding as a means of defense. All three scores were 80-70.

Lydell Rhodes (20-0, 9 Kos) had a somewhat tough time against the taller Alejandro Rodriguez (18-14, 11 Kos) of Mexico in a six round lightweight bout. Rhodes started out quickly but allowed Rodriguez to gain confidence in the last two rounds. Still, he won by majority decision 57-57, 58-56 twice.

Danny Valdivia was efficient and impressive in using lead rights to defeat Mexico’s German Valdez (3-4-1) in a junior middleweight match. Bakersfield’s Valdivia trains with Jose Ramirez, one of the standout prospects in the country.

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