Jose Ramirez defended the WBC Super Lightweight title with a 12-round majority decision over Jose Zepeda in front of over 14,000 fans at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
It was a tactical fight that saw Zepeda box and get off to a good a start. There were several head clashes for which caused cuts on each fighter. Ramirez was cut around his right eye in round four.
Ramirez started to come on in the middle rounds as he featured some solid body work.
Zepeda righted himself, and he himself was cut under his left eye in round eight, but he was able to keep the fight close on the score cards. The fight may have been won in the last 15 seconds, as Ramirez landed a nice flurry to take the final stanza.
Ramirez of Avenel, CA won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 to raise his mark to 24-0. Zepeda falls to 30-2.
“He was a very a tough and smart southpaw. He came well prepared,” Ramirez said. “He kept a good range and distance. That made it a tough, close fight, but I think I pulled it off in the championship rounds. I landed the most effective punches.”
Said Zepeda: “Jose Ramirez is a great fighter, and his fans really pushed him and gave him momentum.”
Former lightweight world champion Ray Beltran stopped previously undefeated Hiroki Okada in the 9th round of their scheduled 10-round super lightweight bout.
In round two, Beltran was dropped by a hard right that was preceded by a left. In round three, Okada was cut over his left eye. Beltran was cut over his left eye in the fourth round.
In round seven, Beltran began to bleed around his right eye. In round nine, Beltran dropped Okada with a perfect right to the chin. Okada was hurt, and Beltran went right after Okada and wobbled him before landing a hard right that sent Okada down, and the bout was stopped at 2:08.
Beltran of Phoenix, AZ is 36-8-1 with 22 knockouts. Okada of Tokyo is 19-1.
The action was fierce from the opening bell, with the two combatants waging a second round for the ages. Beltran knocked Okada (19-1, 13 KOs) down with a crisp left hook, only for Okada to stun Beltran later in the round.
“I knocked him down in the second round, but he came back and got me good, too,” Beltran said. “We knew his plan was to stay at distance and keep me at bay with the jab. Every time I threw my left hook, he kept covering very well. I saw an opening with the right hand and that’s why I started throwing it, and little by little, I kept shortening the distance until I connected with a big right hand and I stopped him.”
Carlos Castro remained undefeated by winning a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Genesis Servania in a super bantamweight bout.
In round seven, Servania was bleeding from around his right eye.
Castro, 121 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 and is now 22-0. Servania, 121 1/2 lbs of Bacolod City, PHL is 32-2.
Gabriel Flores Jr. remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Alex Rynn Torres in a junior lightweight bout.
Flores, 132.4 lbs of Stockton, CA won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 12-0. Torres, 132.6 lbs of Mexico City is 6-3.
“I’m getting better with each fight. I felt better than ever,” Flores said. “I get more and more experience with each fight. I feel like I’m getting cleaner. I’m getting sharper, and I’m only going to get better. I’m ready for whoever Top Rank puts in front of me. This is what I do all day, every day.”
Andy Vences remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Dardan Zenunaj in a junior lightweight bout.
Vences, 131 lbs of San Jose, CA won by scores of 80-72 and is now 22-0-1. Zenunaj, 131 lbs of Kosovo is 14-6.
“I felt great coming back after that long rest after suffering the injury. It’s been a long time,” Vences said. “I looked sharp, but I knew this was going to be a tough fight. This guy gave a great fight and went the distance against Andrew Cancio, and Cancio just became a world champion last night. I knew that against a guy like that I was going to need to use all my skills, and I did. I dominated the fight.”
Isidro Ochoa stopped Jesus Guzman in round five of their scheduled six-round super bantamweight bout.
Ochoa beat up Guzman until the fight was stopped by the doctor at 1:18.
Ochoa, 121 3/4 lbs of Fresno is 7-0 with three knockouts. Guzman, 122 3/4 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 7-3.
Cristian Coria stopped Joel Diaz Jr. in round three of a scheduled eight-round junior welterweight bout.
In round three, Coria landed a left hook to the jaw that sent Diaz to the deck. Cora dropped Diaz again with a hard left hook, and the bout was stopped at 1:50.
Coria, 140 lbs of Famillia, ARG is 28-7-2 with 13 knockouts. Diaz, 138 1/4 lbs of Palmdale, CA is 24-2.
Guido Vianello stopped Andrew Satterfield in the first-round of the their scheduled six-round heavyweight bout
Vianello dropped Satterfield with vicious five-punch combination to the head. Satterfield got to his feet, only to eat about 11 more flush punches, and the fight was stopped at 1:54.
Vianello, 236 lbs of Rome, ITA is 2-0 with two knockouts. Satterfield, 241 1.2 lbs of Marietta, OH is 4-2.
“I felt more relaxed and composed than my first pro fight,” Vianello said. “I am only going to get better.”
