Canada and USA
Fast Results From NYC: Ramirez UD 12; Lozada Shocks Verdejo
The 12-round match for the vacant WBC 140-pound title between Jose Carlos Ramirez and Amir Imam was talked-about as a 50/50 fight, but the online bookmakers

The 12-round match for the vacant WBC 140-pound title between Jose Carlos Ramirez and Amir Imam was talked-about as a 50/50 fight, but the online bookmakers weren’t fooled. Ramirez, the 2012 Olympian from dusty Avenal, California, was a consensus 11/2 favorite and brought home the bacon, scoring a unanimous decision. There was a wide disparity in the scorecards. One judge had Ramirez pitching a shutout. The others favored him by margins of 9-3 and 7-5. There were no knockdowns, but Imam’s right eye was nearly closed when the match was finished.
Ramirez, who had Freddie Roach in his corner, improved to 22-0. Imam, from Albany, New York, suffered his second loss in 23 tries. As for what’s next for Ramirez, his weight class is bursting with young talent and he has several options, but it appears that Regis Prograis will get the first crack at his newly-won title. Prograis would be favored in a match that would attract a lot of buzz.
In a fight that wasn’t expected to go the distance, Oleksandr Gvozdyk was extended the full 12 by rugged Mehdi Amar who wasn’t intimidated by Gvozdyk’s hype and rarely took a backward step. Gvozdyk, who improved to 15-0, dominated the punch stats, but the 35-year-old Amar (34-6-2) can return to his home in Marseille, France, with his head held high. The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
There was a major upset on the non-TV portion of the card when Antonio Lozada scored a 10th round stoppage of previously undefeated Felix Verdejo. A 2012 Olympian for Puerto Rico, San Juan’s Verdejo, a lightweight, was once considered the heir-apparent to Felix Trinidad as an object of affection in his home country. Making his first start in 13 months, Verdejo (23-1) got all he could handle and more from Tijuana’s Lozada (39-3, 33 KOs) who was making his U.S. debut.
Lozada pressed the action throughout. A left hook to the jaw followed by an overhand right sent Verdejo to the canvas in the 10th. He beat the count, but an ensuing barrage led the ring physician to determine that he had seen enough and he ordered referee Eddie Claudio to stop the fight.
Heading into the 10th, Verdejo was ahead on two cards (87-84 and 86-85) and trailed 86-85 on the other. Had he avoided Lozada’s heavy artillery and managed to stay upright in the final round, the match would have theoretically ended in a draw. When the fight was halted with only 23 seconds remaining, Verdejo’s cornerman Tommy Gallagher flew into a rage.
This being St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Michael Conlan was accorded the privilege of going last. The former two-time Olympian didn’t disappoint. In an 8-round featherweight match, Conlan had his Hungarian opponent David Berna on the canvas twice with body punches before the match was stopped in the second round. Berna brought a 15-2 record with 14 KOs, but like many Hungarian fighters today his record was carefully manufactured for the purpose of attracting a better price for him when a promoter in a foreign land required the services of a sacrificial lamb.
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
The Hauser Report: Does the Color of a Fighter’s Gloves Matter?
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Sebastian Fundora and Keith Thurman Talk About Their Upcoming Clash in Vegas
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Why Crawford Beats Canelo (With a Few Dissenting Opinions)
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 342: Three Fights That May Steal the Show on Sept. 13
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Osleys Iglesias Dominates and Stops Vladimir Shishkin in Montreal
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Joe Bugner’s First Fight with Muhammad Ali had Big Ramifications for Las Vegas
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Mbilli and Martinez in a Spirited Draw plus Prelim Results from Las Vegas
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 343: Four Legends in Action on a Golden Boxing Weekend