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Ramirez outpoints Martin, Lopez stops Valcarcel

Fighters Network
30
Jan
Photo by Lina Baker, InstantBoxing/Seeyouringside Photography

Photo by Lina Baker, InstantBoxing/Seeyouringside Photography

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Featherweight prospect Julian Ramirez applied the pressure when he wanted to and he boxed when he needed to. It was an almost-flawless game plan against his toughest opponent to date on Friday at the Belasco Theater.
Ramirez won a convincing 10-round unanimous decision over Christopher Martin before a sold-out crowd. Scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90 in favor of Ramirez.
With the win, Ramirez improved to 16-0, 8 knockouts, while Martin dropped to 28-7-3, 9 KOs.
Ramirez last fought on Oct. 3, winning a one-sided 10-round decision over Hugo Partida in Carson, Calif. Martin, a former fringe contender, had lost four of his previous five bouts.
From the opening bell, Ramirez applied his trademark pressure, walking Martin down against the ropes and letting his hands go. The tactic worked as Martin fought more defensively, never finding any rhythm or the ability to establish a consistent jab.
Ramirez seemed to stun Martin momentarily early in the third round, but San Diego native was able to recover.
Martin was able to find some success midway through the fight by holding his ground and throwing more consistently. Undaunted, Ramirez continued to land lead and counter left hands to the head of Martin.
Both fighters found success midway through the sixth round. Ramirez seemed to stun Martin with a barrage of punches, but Martin caught Ramirez’s attention with a hard right hand to the body.
“I could tell he was hurt, but I wasn’t hurt from the punch,” said Ramirez after the fight.
As the bout progressed into the final rounds, Ramirez mixed in a steady attack of left hands to the head and body. Ramirez was content to box from the outside, peppering Martin with jabs and following them with left hands.
After the bout, Ramirez admitted to dealing with “distractions” during training camp, which may have partly explained why he weighed in at 127.4 pounds (over the contracted 126-pound limit).
“Three weeks ago, I got sick and I was throwing up. I was told to withdraw from the fight, but I wanted to fight. I didn’t lose the weight. I knew Chris Martin was coming to win. I can still make 126 pounds.
“Fights will get tougher from here on out. I need to get more serious.”
Lopez stops Valcarcel
In the opening bout of the ‘Boxeo Estelar’ telecast on Estrella TV, unbeaten featherweight Abraham Lopez struggled early, but eventually broke Carlos Varcarcel down to force a stoppage after the end of the seventh round.
Photo by Lina Baker

Photo by Lina Baker


Lopez improved to 20-0-1, 15 KOs, while Varcarcel fell to 14-7-4, 5 KOs.
Valcarcel stunned Lopez with a left hook to the head in the opening round. The fighter from Puerto Rico landed that punch repeatedly during the first part of the fight.
Lopez, from nearby La Puente, was undaunted in his attack, willing to stand in the pocket to land his own left hooks or right uppercuts to the head.
As the bout progressed into the middle rounds, Lopez seemed to land with more regularity. He was more successful when he took the initiative, even though he lacked a steady attack to Varcarcel’s body.
That changed in the sixth round, as Lopez found a home for hard left hooks to the body. The impact of the punches seemed to take its toll as Varcarcel’s punch output dropped significantly as the bout progressed into the later rounds.
After being hurt numerous times in the seventh round, Varcarcel remained on his stool at the start of the eighth round.
“I trained hard enough to possibly make it all 10 rounds,” said Lopez after the fight. “The intensity of the fight made it possible to end things early.”
In the walkout bout of the evening, junior welterweight prospect Jonathan Navarro (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Carlos Rodriguez (9-3, 4 KOs) at 48 seconds of the second round.
In preliminary action:
– Featherweight Edgar Valerio (5-0, 3 KOs) stopped Justin Lopez (5-5, 5 KOs) at 2:40 of the first round. Valerio is now managed by Joel De La Hoya.
– Bantamweight Joshua Franco, who is trained by Robert Garcia, improved to 4-0, 2 KOs with a one-sided six round decision over Juan Benavides (5-7-1, 2 KOs). All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Franco.
– In the opening bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card, junior featherweight Pablo Rubio (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Bryan Perez (2-3-1, 1 KO) at 1:15 of the second round.
The entire card can be watched On Demand on RingTVLive.com.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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