Batyr Akhmedov needed less than a round to stop Rey Perez on Sunday night at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Well, Batyr Akhmedov certainly bounced back strongly from his disappointing loss to Mario Barrios in September of last year.
The junior welterweight contender from Uzbekistan needed less than a round to stop Rey Perez on the Yordenis Ugas-Abel Ramos card Sunday night at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Akmedov (8-1, 7 KOs) put Perez (24-12, 8 KOs) down twice primarily as a result of body blows, which resulted in the stoppage. Perez was taking a pounding when referee Thomas Taylor ended the scheduled 10-round fight.
The official time was 2:19.
The 29-year-old winner fought for Turkey in the 2016 Olympics and got off to a quick start as a pro. However, Barrios put him down twice en route to a unanimous-decision victory, although some believe Akhmedov deserved the decision.
Akhmedov reportedly is seeking a rematch with Barrios, who won a secondary 140-pound title in their fight.
Batyr Akhmedov needed less than a round to stop Rey Perez on Sunday night at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Well, Batyr Akhmedov certainly bounced back strongly from his disappointing loss to Mario Barrios in September of last year.
The junior welterweight contender from Uzbekistan needed less than a round to stop Rey Perez on the Yordenis Ugas-Abel Ramos card Sunday night at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Akmedov (8-1, 7 KOs) put Perez (24-12, 8 KOs) down twice primarily as a result of body blows, which resulted in the stoppage. Perez was taking a pounding when referee Thomas Taylor ended the scheduled 10-round fight.
The official time was 2:19.
The 29-year-old winner fought for Turkey in the 2016 Olympics and got off to a quick start as a pro. However, Barrios put him down twice en route to a unanimous-decision victory, although some believe Akhmedov deserved the decision.
Akhmedov reportedly is seeking a rematch with Barrios, who won a secondary 140-pound title in their fight.
Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos both made weight Saturday for their scheduled 12-round bout Sunday at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Welterweight contender Yordenis Ugas returns to the ring Sunday on FOX.
Ugas and opponent Abel Ramos both made weight Saturday for their scheduled 12-round bout at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Ugas weighed in at the 147-pound limit, Ramos 146.
The card is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Both boxers will be fighting for a second time this year. Ugas (25-4, 12) is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Mike Dallas Jr. on Feb. 1. Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) scored a last-second knockout in a fight he was losing to Bryant Perrella on Feb. 15.
The fight is for what the WBA calls its “regular” 147-pound title. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.
Also on the card, welterweight prospect Jesus Ramos (12-0, 11 KOs) faces Esteban Garcia (14-0, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Ramos, Abel Ramo’s nephew, and Garcia weighed 142.8 and 142, respectively.
And junior welterweight prospect Omar Juarez (8-0, 4 KOs takes on Dakota Linger (12-3-2, 8 KOs) in another eight-rounder. Juarez and Linger weighed 142.8 and 144.4. respectively.
Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos both made weight Saturday for their scheduled 12-round bout Sunday at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Welterweight contender Yordenis Ugas returns to the ring Sunday on FOX.
Ugas and opponent Abel Ramos both made weight Saturday for their scheduled 12-round bout at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Ugas weighed in at the 147-pound limit, Ramos 146.
The card is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Both boxers will be fighting for a second time this year. Ugas (25-4, 12) is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Mike Dallas Jr. on Feb. 1. Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) scored a last-second knockout in a fight he was losing to Bryant Perrella on Feb. 15.
The fight is for what the WBA calls its “regular” 147-pound title. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.
Also on the card, welterweight prospect Jesus Ramos (12-0, 11 KOs) faces Esteban Garcia (14-0, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Ramos, Abel Ramo’s nephew, and Garcia weighed 142.8 and 142, respectively.
And junior welterweight prospect Omar Juarez (8-0, 4 KOs takes on Dakota Linger (12-3-2, 8 KOs) in another eight-rounder. Juarez and Linger weighed 142.8 and 144.4. respectively.
Yordenis Ugas is a fighting on Sunday for a title Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize. It means something to him, though.
Yordenis Ugas is a fighting Sunday on FOX for a title Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize, meaning it has no significance to us. It means something to him, though.
Ugas will face Abel Ramos for what the WBA calls its “regular” welterweight title in Los Angeles even though Manny Pacquiao is the actual WBA titleholder and Vergil Ortiz holds something called the “gold” title, whatever that is.
Still, Ugas said a victory over Ramos would be a special accomplishment: It would make him the first Cuban-born fighter to win a 147-pound belt since Jose Napoles 45 years ago.
“I’m happy, anxious and excited, all in a good way, because I’m just so ready to fulfill this dream I’ve had since I started boxing, to win a world title,” said Ugas, who lives in Miami. “I know Ramos will be competitive and give his best, but I’m ready to give the best of myself and reach my dream.
“This isn’t just my dream; this is the dream of an entire country that has waited almost half a century for a Cuban welterweight fighter with a world title. It’s a dream for the whole country. I want to represent my country and make them proud.”
Yordenis Ugas (left, against Omar Figueroa Jr.) has the skill set to give any welterweight problems. AP Photo / John Locher
Ugas (25-4, 12 KOs) has already done that. The native of Santiago de Cuba was an amateur star and has become one the top welterweights in the world.
He’s perhaps best known for nearly upsetting then world titleholder Shawn Porter on March of last year, when he lost a disputed split decision but proved he belongs in the ring with anyone.
Had he won, his career would be different. As an actual champion – not a “regular” one – he would have contenders gunning for him. As it is, he’s not the first choice of the top 147-pounders. Facing him is too big of a risk with too little to gain.
That doesn’t mean Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) is a pushover. He isn’t. He has lost his biggest fights but almost always gives a strong showing, including a majority-decision setback against Jamal James in 2018.
And the Arizonan is coming of a miracle victory over Bryant Perrella in February. In shades of Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor I, Ramos was down on all three cards when he stopped Perrella with one second remaining in the scheduled 10-round bout, although some questioned the stoppage.
“Ramos is a tremendous fighter that never gives up,” Ugas said. “I congratulate him for winning that fight at the last second against Bryant Perrella. He earned it. Maybe the referee was too involved stopping it when he did, but Ramos earned every bit of it.
“When I heard that I would be fighting Ramos I was very excited, because I knew it would be a great fight that the fans would love.”
Ugas is sincere about what winning the secondary belt would mean to him. At the same time, he understands that an actual title – the one at the top of the sanctioning body rankings – means more than a manufactured one.
Ultimately, that’s what he and every other talented fighter seeks. The next step in that direction for him is a victory over Ramos. And Ugas is taking nothing for granted.
“The biggest lesson I learned from the Shawn Porter fight is that I can’t get overconfident,” he said. “I thought I had it in the bag, and it really wasn’t that way. I have to always be attacking. I can never assume anything, no matter how the fight might look at the moment.
“This is about winning, no matter what. Regardless of how we get there.”
Yordenis Ugas is a fighting on Sunday for a title Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize. It means something to him, though.
Yordenis Ugas is a fighting Sunday on FOX for a title Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize, meaning it has no significance to us. It means something to him, though.
Ugas will face Abel Ramos for what the WBA calls its “regular” welterweight title in Los Angeles even though Manny Pacquiao is the actual WBA titleholder and Vergil Ortiz holds something called the “gold” title, whatever that is.
Still, Ugas said a victory over Ramos would be a special accomplishment: It would make him the first Cuban-born fighter to win a 147-pound belt since Jose Napoles 45 years ago.
“I’m happy, anxious and excited, all in a good way, because I’m just so ready to fulfill this dream I’ve had since I started boxing, to win a world title,” said Ugas, who lives in Miami. “I know Ramos will be competitive and give his best, but I’m ready to give the best of myself and reach my dream.
“This isn’t just my dream; this is the dream of an entire country that has waited almost half a century for a Cuban welterweight fighter with a world title. It’s a dream for the whole country. I want to represent my country and make them proud.”
Yordenis Ugas (left, against Omar Figueroa Jr.) has the skill set to give any welterweight problems. AP Photo / John Locher
Ugas (25-4, 12 KOs) has already done that. The native of Santiago de Cuba was an amateur star and has become one the top welterweights in the world.
He’s perhaps best known for nearly upsetting then world titleholder Shawn Porter on March of last year, when he lost a disputed split decision but proved he belongs in the ring with anyone.
Had he won, his career would be different. As an actual champion – not a “regular” one – he would have contenders gunning for him. As it is, he’s not the first choice of the top 147-pounders. Facing him is too big of a risk with too little to gain.
That doesn’t mean Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) is a pushover. He isn’t. He has lost his biggest fights but almost always gives a strong showing, including a majority-decision setback against Jamal James in 2018.
And the Arizonan is coming of a miracle victory over Bryant Perrella in February. In shades of Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor I, Ramos was down on all three cards when he stopped Perrella with one second remaining in the scheduled 10-round bout, although some questioned the stoppage.
“Ramos is a tremendous fighter that never gives up,” Ugas said. “I congratulate him for winning that fight at the last second against Bryant Perrella. He earned it. Maybe the referee was too involved stopping it when he did, but Ramos earned every bit of it.
“When I heard that I would be fighting Ramos I was very excited, because I knew it would be a great fight that the fans would love.”
Ugas is sincere about what winning the secondary belt would mean to him. At the same time, he understands that an actual title – the one at the top of the sanctioning body rankings – means more than a manufactured one.
Ultimately, that’s what he and every other talented fighter seeks. The next step in that direction for him is a victory over Ramos. And Ugas is taking nothing for granted.
“The biggest lesson I learned from the Shawn Porter fight is that I can’t get overconfident,” he said. “I thought I had it in the bag, and it really wasn’t that way. I have to always be attacking. I can never assume anything, no matter how the fight might look at the moment.
“This is about winning, no matter what. Regardless of how we get there.”
Ryan Garcia still has a lot to prove but first-round knockouts — like the one he turned in Saturday — generate excitement.
GOOD
Ryan Garcia’s one-punch knockout of Francisco Fonseca only 1 minute, 20 seconds into their lightweight fight Friday doesn’t prove much because Fonseca is nothing special.
The excitement Garcia created with his second consecutive first-round stoppage is genuine, though. He’s blossoming into a potential star. That’s what happens when your results in the ring start to catch up to the hype.
Indeed, almost any fighter would love to be in Garcia’s position.
Of course, he still has a long way to go. Only 21, he still hasn’t faced a legitimate threat. Only a true test can give us an idea of how good Garcia truly is and can be.
It could come soon. Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, is eyeing a matchup between Garcia and former three-division titleholder Jorge Linares in July. If Garcia can win that fight – a big if, in my opinion – he will have made a strong statement.
I wonder whether Garcia’s handlers would live to regret the decision to fight the gifted Linares, who demonstrated in his fourth-round knockout of Carlos Morales on the Garcia-Fonseca card that he has more to give, but I would applaud the bold move.
Garcia, bubbling with confidence, definitely thinks big. He reeled off immediately after his stoppage of Fonseca a gauntlet of opponents he’d like to face in the near future – Linares, Luke Campbell, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney.
That’s quite a gauntlet he’s laid out for himself. We’ll see how many of them – if any – he fights and how he performs once he does.
In the meantime, Garcia has our attention. That’s more than all but a few professional boxers can say.
BAD
Referee Jack Reiss watches closely as a wild ending to the Abel Ramos-Bryant Perrella fight unfolds. Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions
The last-second stoppage of the Abel Ramos-Bryant Perrella fight on the Caleb Plant-Vincent Feigenbutz card Saturday in Nashville might’ve seemed cruel to Perrella, who was winning on all cards when he lost in an instant.
The fact is referee Jack Reiss was following the rules.
According to the Unified Rules of Boxing, under which that bout was fought, “A fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round, including the final round.” That means, if I understand it correctly, an injured boxer must be in condition to fight even if the three minutes of the last round has expired.
Reiss judged that Perrella, who had gone down twice in the final seconds, was in no condition to continue and waved off the fight.
The frustration expressed by Perrella’s cornerman Michael Nowling in the ring immediately after the stoppage was understandable: “We won every round and they took it from us with 1 second left.”
The rules took it from Perrella, not “they.” And not Reiss. The referee, as trainer and TV analyst Joe Goossen said, isn’t a timekeeper. His job is to look after the welfare of the combatants in the ring with him and follow the rules.
That’s what Reiss did. Good stoppage.
WORSE
Vincent Feigenbutz (left) didn’t have the tools to compete with Caleb Plant on Saturday night. Stephanie Trapp / TGB Promotions
It seems to me that sanctioning bodies are supposed to have a champion and then rank the next 10 best contenders in each division.
The reality? The alphabet organizations rank their contenders based less on merit than on how much money they can make. The result of that is a matchup like Caleb Plant vs. Vincent Feigenbutz for Plant’s IBF super middleweight title.
Feigenbutz, ranked No. 1 by the IBF, is a strong, sturdy young man but he had no business in the ring with a fighter of Plant’s ability. The fact he was the mandatory challenger is yet another red flag that the system is a mess.
Plant’s title defense, which ended by 10th-round knockout, couldn’t even be described as a competitive fight. Feigenbutz, an eight-year pro, has rudimentary skills and courage but not the tools to give the titleholder a legitimate challenge. Aren’t title fights supposed to be competitive at least on paper?
Anyone watching that fight who didn’t feel sorry for the German in the latter rounds has no heart. And anyone not disgusted with the IBF has no sense.
Sadly, there is no solution is sight. Some sort of oversight body – ideally an international one – might help but that isn’t going to happen any time soon. I personally try to minimize the sanctioning bodies by mentioning them infrequently but that’s only a small gesture.
We’re stuck with the murky alphabet soup and mismatches like Plant-Feigenbutz. I just hope fans can see through their self-serving game.
Referee Jack Reiss said he couldn’t win either way when he stopped the Abel Ramos-Bryant Perrella fight with one second remaining.
Referee Jack Reiss was already on the hot seat for what some believe was a long count in the first Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury fight. The temperature was turned up another notch on Saturday.
Reiss worked the welterweight fight between Abel Ramos and Bryant Perrella on the Caleb Plant-Vincent Feigenbutz card in Nashville. Perrella was leading on the cards when he went down twice in the final moments of the scheduled 10-round fight and didn’t respond well to commands, prompting Reiss to stop the fight.
There was only one second remaining.
The result immediately brought back memories of the first Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor fight, which was stopped by Richard Steele with 2 seconds left in a fight Taylor was winning. It also made Reiss the centerpiece in another controversy.
Perrella, hoping to become a 147-pound contender, was ahead comfortably on all three cards when he went down from an uppercut with about 35 seconds left in the fight and then got up shaky legs. He went down again in the final seconds. Again, he got up, but this time Reiss didn’t like what he saw and waved off the fight.
Perrella seemed to accept his fate. His trainer, Michael Nowling, was angry.
“We won every round and they took it from us with 1 second left,” he said moments after the fight ended.
Here’s what Reiss saw at the end:
“Perrella seems to be winning the entire fight. He got caught really good in the 10th round. When he got up, I would say he was only at about 60 percent. He didn’t walk well, he wasn’t stable. I wanted to give him every opportunity so I let it go and watched how he responded.
“I want a fighter to run or hold. The worse thing they can do is stand there and fight back. That’s instinctual. When they run or hold, it’s thoughtful. The second shot was even more devastating. I said, “Walk over there and come back. He couldn’t control his body. He walked straight across the ring and stumbled. That told me he was not able to defend himself.
“Forget the clock. The clock had nothing to do with it. There are no rules in the book that say, ‘If the end of the fight in near, you should stall and let it continue.’”
Of course, the clock is what everyone is focused on. Had Perrella been allowed to continue for just one more tick of the clock, he would’ve been victorious. That’s why some have been critical of Reiss.
The veteran referee, one of the most respected officials in the business, said he ended up in a no-win situation.
“That’s boxing,” he said. “I didn’t knock him down. I’m not the one who let my guard down in the 10th round. I’m the one who had to deal with it. If I stalled and let it go, I would have been crucified the other way. I would’ve robbed Ramos of the TKO he deserved. Everyone would’ve said I’m a cheater. ‘Why didn’t you wave it off?’ I was between a rock and a hard place.
“I’m not happy about the way it was stopped but the only issue is the clock. And that’s not a valid argument.”
Caleb Plant made short work of Vincent Feigenbtuz stopping the German – in style – in front of his hometown crowd of Nashville.
Nashville has a new act in town.
In a rousing hometown debut at the Bridgestone Arena, super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant ran roughshod over unknown German Vincent Feigenbutz, peppering his hapless foe all night with a barrage of creative combinations en route to a dominant 10th-round stoppage.
Referee Malik Waleed waved the bout off at the 2:23 mark.
A mismatch through and through, the fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, nevertheless attracted a strong turnout in a city not known for its boxing. If Saturday night was any indication, that could soon change. This was Plant’s second straight successful title defense after winning the IBF belt in a points win over Jose Uzcategui in 2019.
“I could have gone all night,” Plant said. “I felt great. I was relaxed, sharp. I told you I was going to stop this fight before the 12th round.”
Working behind an educated left hand, Plant (20-0, 12 KOs), who now lives and trains in Las Vegas, picked apart Feigenbutz (31-3, 28 KOs) with surgical precision, at times landing four-to-eight unanswered punches. And they were a beauty in their variety: uppercuts, hooks, straight rights and hard lefts to the body. It was a masterclass from a fighter who was largely obscure a couple of years ago.
Feigenbutz, who did not have an amateur career, made a rare spirited effort in Round 6, rushing at Plant with a barrage of punches, few of which landed. At the end of the salvo, Plant shook his head and blew a kiss, much to the crowd’s delight. That pretty much summed up the night. One could say Feigenbutz flashed something of an iron chin in withstanding the punishment, but he showed little else.
The fight slowed down briefly in the second half, but Plant picked up the pace in Round 9, bamboozling Feigenbutz with a long combination to start the round. The finishing touches came in Round 10, when Plant showered Feigenbutz with yet another series of unanswered punches, prompting referee Waleed to stop the bout.
Postfight, Plant made it clear he has his eyes set on facing fellow titleholder David Benavidez next.
“Everybody knows I want that unification bout with David Benavidez,” Plant said. “Everybody knows who the best 168-pounder is. If you want it, you have to come see me. I’ve been asking for his fight forever, I’m tired of waiting.”
On the Caleb Plant-Vincen Feigenbutz undercard, Abel Ramos authored a stunning knockout of Bryant Perrella after trailing early.
Once again, boxing lives up to its reputation as the so-called Theater of the Unexpected.
It looked like welterweight Bryant Perrella was well on his way to a relatively breezy 10-round decision on the Caleb Plant-Vincent Feigenbutz card at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. But with 20-odd seconds left in the final round, Abel Ramos, a virtual punching bag for most of the fight, landed a booming uppercut that decked Perrella. Perrella went down again from a right hand. In a pivotal sequence, referee Jack Reiss asked Perrella to walk to his left, saw that he stumbled, and decided to wave off the bout. Ramos howled in joy. There was one second left in the round.
The stoppage brought to mind the controversial ending to the 1990 junior welterweight title bout between Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez, in which Taylor had largely outboxed Chavez, before succumbing to a knockdown in the final round. With a few seconds left, referee Richard Steele made the fateful decision to stop the bout.
Both Perrella and Ramos were cognizant of this piece of boxing history.
“I saw the Julius Ceasr Chavez-Meldrick Taylor fight over and over again, but I never thought I would be in a similar fight,” Ramos said.
“That was like Meldrick Taylor and Chavez,” Perrella said.
The southpaw Perrella (17-3, 14 KOs)boxed intelligently off the backfoot, pumping his jab and mixing in left hands to the body and head. For his part, Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) tried to wade in and make it a brawl on the inside, but had little luck connecting on consequential shots. Instead, it was Perrella who not only threw more punches, but he landed the harder shots as well.
In Round 4, Perrella momentarily rocked Ramos with a hard straight left. He also noticeably hurt Ramos in Round 9 with a body shot.
Perrella had a decent Round 5, but it turned out to be an anomaly. Perrella quickly got back on track, picking apart Ramos with uppercuts and hooks, while continually circling to his right.
It appeared to be Perrella’s bout to lose, until Ramos stormed back in the final twenty seconds of Round 10, scoring two knockdowns and the eventual stoppage.
The official time of stoppage was 2-59 of Round 10.
Asked if he thought Reiss was wrong to wave off the bout, Perrella took the high road, saying “I don’t know, I don’t want to take anything away from my opponent. I was rocked.”
Perrella’s trainer was less cordial, and perhaps, rightfully so.
“Why would you stop the fight with one second left?” he said.
A rematch, one figures, should be in order.
Also on the undercard, the night was set for Nashville native Austin Dulay to impress the hometown crowd, but Diego Magdaleno made sure to play spoiler. After a slow start the veteran Magdaleno took control, outworking the younger Dulay with a dedicated attack to the body en route to a 10-round unanimous decision.
Scores were 97-91, 96-92, 96-92, all in favor of Magdaleno.
Dulay (13-2, 10 KOs) came out sharp, tagging the slower Magdaleno with jabs and straight lefts. But the tide began to turn in Round 3, as Magdaleno (32-3, 13 KOs) began to settle down and land combinations, especially to the body. Some punches strayed low, one of which resulted in a point deduction in Round 7. But it was Magdaleno’s round anyway, as he came back to drop Magdaleno, this time with a clean shot to the body.
