LAS VEGAS – It was mandatory performance for a mandatory shot at a title. That’s another way of saying Gilberto Ramirez did what he had to.
Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs) landed most of the punches and was the aggressor Friday night throughout a 100-90, 99-91, 100-90 decision over Gevorg Khatchikian (23-2, 11 KOs) that earned the unbeaten Mexican a mandatory shot at the WBO’s 168-pound title and kept him alive as a future opponent for Gennady Golovkin.
Golovkin, who is in Vegas for Saturday night Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez showdown, was in The Cosmopolitan crowd. He had planned to attend. After long day of autographs and media appearances, however, GGG decided to tyo rest in hotel suite, a GGG representative said.
Turns out, he didn’t miss much. Ramirez won a bout that didn’t included much in the way of fireworks. The real drama happened after the fight. Welterweight champion Tim Bradley, a ringside analyst for truTV, and Jessie Vargas had to be separated. Vargas has long wanted a rematch with Bradley, who is coming off a victory over Brandon Rios.
There was more drama in the Bradley-Vargas scuffle than in Ramirez-Khatchikian.
“I tried to knocked him out,’’ said Ramirez, who hopes to face the winner of the Arthur Abraham-Martin Murray bout for Abraham’s title Saturday in Germany. “But he was more elusive than we saw on the tapes.’
Khatchikian’s unorthodox style seemed to baffle Ramirez in the early rounds. He dropped his heads. He danced in, then out and often with his undefended face right in front of the more conventional Ramirez. He often appeared to be a easy target. But he wasn’t.
There was a deceptive elusiveness to what Khatchikian did. It was if he were setting a trap for Ramirez, who seemed to take the bait at east a couple of times.
Trouble is, Khatchikian didn’t have enough power to capitalize.
In the third, the super-middleweight from The Netherlands staggered him with a short right as the Mexican stepped inside. But he couldn’t drop him. In the seventh, Khatchikian rocked Ramirez again, this time with a succession of uppercuts. Stll, there wasn’t enough sting in any one of them. Raimrez remained upright and unhurt.
