Tag: Taylor Ramirez

Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Josh Taylor added significantly to his pound-for-pound credentials by outpointing Jose Ramirez to become undisputed 140-pound champ Saturday in Las Vegas.

But what’s his appropriate position on Boxing Junkie’s list? That wasn’t an easy decision.

On one hand, Taylor, who entered the week as an Honorable Mention, has defeated Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez in a span of three fights and his last six victims had a combined record of 136-1. That’s beyond impressive.

A Top-10 ranking would be justified.

On the other hand, Taylor almost gave away what could’ve been a more-convincing victory on Saturday. He put Ramirez down twice in the middle rounds to take control of the fight but became passive and was outworked in the final third of the fight.

All three judges scored it 114-112, meaning the fight would’ve been a draw had Ramirez remained on his feet. Boxing Junkie had the same score.

In the end, Taylor gave a strong overall performance to beat an elite opponent to become the sixth undisputed champion in the four-belt era. He certainly deserves credit for that.

Thus, the 30-year-old Scottish fighter jumps from Honorable Mention to No. 13 on the list, between No. 12 Jermell Charlo and No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.

And, of course, Taylor could get the opportunity to climb much higher on the list. He’s expected to defend his titles against Jack Catterall next and possibly then challenge 147-pound champ and No. 1-rated Terence Crawford.

For the record, Boxing Junkie took advantage of Taylor’s victory to make other minor adjustments to the list.

Here is where the pound-for-pounders stand.

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford — No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Expected to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles in September but no deal is in place.
  3. Naoya Inoue — Scheduled to fight Michael Dasmarinas on June 19 in Las Vegas.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21, although no formal announcement has been made.
  5. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to challenge heavyweight titleholder  Anthony Joshua this summer.
  6. Teofimo Lopez — Scheduled to defend his 135-pound titles against George Kambosos Jr. on June 19 in Miami.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko — Scheduled to fight Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26 in Las Vegas.
  8. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder on July 24 in Las Vegas.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada — The WBC announced that Estrada will meet Roman Gonzalez in a third fight as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin — Reportedly in talks to face Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight in December. Also rumored to be considering an interim fight against Esquiva Falcao.
  11. Mikey Garcia — No fight scheduled.
  12. Jermell Charlo — Scheduled to face Brian Castano in a 154-pound title-unification fight on July 17.
  13. Josh Taylor — Expected to face mandatory challenger Jack Catterall in his next fight but no deal is in place.
  14. Artur Beterbiev — Reportedly in talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification bout this fall.
  15. Manny Pacquiao — Scheduled to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled), Jermall Charlo (scheduled to face Juan Montiel on June 19), Gervonta Davis (scheduled to face Mario Barrios in a 140-pound bout on June 26),  Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (the WBC announced that Sor Rungvisai will meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), and Oscar Valdez (expected to defend his title against Robson Conceicao in late summer or fall but nothing is official).

[lawrence-related id=20480,20434]

Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Pound-for-pound: Josh Taylor moves up the Boxing Junkie list

Josh Taylor added significantly to his pound-for-pound credentials by outpointing Jose Ramirez to become undisputed 140-pound champ Saturday in Las Vegas.

But what’s his appropriate position on Boxing Junkie’s list? That wasn’t an easy decision.

On one hand, Taylor, who entered the week as an Honorable Mention, has defeated Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez in a span of three fights and his last six victims had a combined record of 136-1. That’s beyond impressive.

A Top-10 ranking would be justified.

On the other hand, Taylor almost gave away what could’ve been a more-convincing victory on Saturday. He put Ramirez down twice in the middle rounds to take control of the fight but became passive and was outworked in the final third of the fight.

All three judges scored it 114-112, meaning the fight would’ve been a draw had Ramirez remained on his feet. Boxing Junkie had the same score.

In the end, Taylor gave a strong overall performance to beat an elite opponent to become the sixth undisputed champion in the four-belt era. He certainly deserves credit for that.

Thus, the 30-year-old Scottish fighter jumps from Honorable Mention to No. 13 on the list, between No. 12 Jermell Charlo and No. 14 Artur Beterbiev.

And, of course, Taylor could get the opportunity to climb much higher on the list. He’s expected to defend his titles against Jack Catterall next and possibly then challenge 147-pound champ and No. 1-rated Terence Crawford.

For the record, Boxing Junkie took advantage of Taylor’s victory to make other minor adjustments to the list.

Here is where the pound-for-pounders stand.

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford — No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez – Expected to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles in September but no deal is in place.
  3. Naoya Inoue — Scheduled to fight Michael Dasmarinas on June 19 in Las Vegas.
  4. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21, although no formal announcement has been made.
  5. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to challenge heavyweight titleholder  Anthony Joshua this summer.
  6. Teofimo Lopez — Scheduled to defend his 135-pound titles against George Kambosos Jr. on June 19 in Miami.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko — Scheduled to fight Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26 in Las Vegas.
  8. Tyson Fury – Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder on July 24 in Las Vegas.
  9. Juan Francisco Estrada — The WBC announced that Estrada will meet Roman Gonzalez in a third fight as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official.
  10. Gennadiy Golovkin — Reportedly in talks to face Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight in December. Also rumored to be considering an interim fight against Esquiva Falcao.
  11. Mikey Garcia — No fight scheduled.
  12. Jermell Charlo — Scheduled to face Brian Castano in a 154-pound title-unification fight on July 17.
  13. Josh Taylor — Expected to face mandatory challenger Jack Catterall in his next fight but no deal is in place.
  14. Artur Beterbiev — Reportedly in talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification bout this fall.
  15. Manny Pacquiao — Scheduled to face No. 4 Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight title-unification bout on Aug. 21.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled), Jermall Charlo (scheduled to face Juan Montiel on June 19), Gervonta Davis (scheduled to face Mario Barrios in a 140-pound bout on June 26),  Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (the WBC announced that Sor Rungvisai will meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), and Oscar Valdez (expected to defend his title against Robson Conceicao in late summer or fall but nothing is official).

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Josh Taylor rides two knockdowns to undisputed championship

Josh Taylor scored two knockdowns and outpointed Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed 140-pound champion Saturday.

Two knockdowns lifted Josh Taylor from a world titleholder to something akin to a legend, at least in his country.

The Scot put American rival Jose Ramirez down twice in the middle rounds, which proved to be the difference in their fight for the undisputed junior welterweight championship Saturday night at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

All three judges scored the back-and-forth scrap 114-112, meaning it would’ve ended in a draw and settled nothing had Ramirez remained on his feet.

As it is, Taylor became just the sixth male fighter to win all the major belts in any division in the four-belt era, which solidified his place as one of best fighters ever from Scotland.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Taylor, who has now beaten Regis Prograis and Ramirez in a span of three fights. “I trained my whole life for this moment, I dedicated my whole life to this moment,

“I’ve dreamed of it so many times over. I’m so happy. I’m over the moon.”

Josh Taylor (left) put Jose Ramirez flat on his back in the Round 7. AP Photo / John Locher

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) instigated some trash talk before the fight, which culminated in an altercation after the weigh-in in the new Las Vegas hotel.

However, he said after the fight that it was never personal. His goal was merely to get under the skin of Ramirez in an attempt to get him to fight aggressively, which Taylor believed he could use to his advantage.

And he did, landing a number of hard shots when Ramirez lunged at him.

The fight was roughly even when, seconds after the start Round 6, Taylor countered his opponent with a short left that put him flat on his face. Ramirez obviously wasn’t hurt because he performed well the rest of the round but the tone of the fight had changed.

The knockdown in Round 7 made that clear. The fighters were in the process of untangling when, with about 30 seconds remaining in the round, Ramirez let his guard down and took a perfect left uppercut to the chin that put him flat on his back and hurt him.

Ramirez, who staggered as he got up, was able to survive the round but he didn’t fully recover until some point in Round 8, after which he had some of his best rounds.

Taylor must’ve thought that he had a big lead on the scorecards because he became relatively passive, allowing a desperate Ramirez to outwork him and climb back into the fight. Ramirez won three of the final four rounds on two cards, all four on the third.

Taylor celebrates after becoming undisputed 140-pound champion. AP Photo / John Locher

Boxing Junkie also scored the fight 114-112 for Taylor, six rounds each. And it gave Ramirez three of the final four rounds.

Still, Taylor was critical of the scoring afterward.

“I thought the scorecards were a little tight,” he said. “I thought they were well wider than that. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of the judges, but I wasn’t going to moan. I was confident in winning this fight anyway.”

Of course, a victory is a victory. And Taylor couldn’t have been much happier.

He knows that his countrymen will now speak of him in the same breath as the great Hall of Famer Ken Buchanan, the lightweight champion from the early 1970s who is from the town in which Taylor was born, Edinburgh.

Taylor plans to visit Buchanan – undoubtedly with his four belts in tow – when he returns to Scotland.

“I did it just like you champ!” Taylor said directly to his countryman as he was interviewed. “I’ll see you when I get home. Much love. He’s a legend. You gave me so much inspiration to do it, and I’m just like you. See you soon, champ.”

Taylor said before the fight on Saturday that he would be interested in moving up to 147 pounds to challenge pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, who shares Bob Arum as a promoter.

However, he said nothing about his next fight immediately after his victory on Saturday. He was 100% invested in his celebration.

Meanwhile, Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) didn’t speak to the media immediately after the fight but his trainer – Robert Garcia – did. Garcia said he was told by someone at ringside that referee Kenny Bayless, trying to break the fighters, was holding Ramirez’s arm when he was knocked down for the second time.

However, replays made it clear that wasn’t the case. Ramirez might’ve been distracted but it was a fair knockdown.

“Taylor is the undisputed champ,” Garcia said. “I congratulate him. You don’t see that often. He definitely earned it, he made history. I gotta go back and see the fight. People were telling me in the second knockdown … the ref was holding Jose’s hand and he got hit. I have to see it.

“But, hey, we can’t win ’em all.”

[lawrence-related id=20428]

Josh Taylor rides two knockdowns to undisputed championship

Josh Taylor scored two knockdowns and outpointed Jose Ramirez to become the undisputed 140-pound champion Saturday.

Two knockdowns lifted Josh Taylor from a world titleholder to something akin to a legend, at least in his country.

The Scot put American rival Jose Ramirez down twice in the middle rounds, which proved to be the difference in their fight for the undisputed junior welterweight championship Saturday night at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

All three judges scored the back-and-forth scrap 114-112, meaning it would’ve ended in a draw and settled nothing had Ramirez remained on his feet.

As it is, Taylor became just the sixth male fighter to win all the major belts in any division in the four-belt era, which solidified his place as one of best fighters ever from Scotland.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Taylor, who has now beaten Regis Prograis and Ramirez in a span of three fights. “I trained my whole life for this moment, I dedicated my whole life to this moment,

“I’ve dreamed of it so many times over. I’m so happy. I’m over the moon.”

Josh Taylor (left) put Jose Ramirez flat on his back in the Round 7. AP Photo / John Locher

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) instigated some trash talk before the fight, which culminated in an altercation after the weigh-in in the new Las Vegas hotel.

However, he said after the fight that it was never personal. His goal was merely to get under the skin of Ramirez in an attempt to get him to fight aggressively, which Taylor believed he could use to his advantage.

And he did, landing a number of hard shots when Ramirez lunged at him.

The fight was roughly even when, seconds after the start Round 6, Taylor countered his opponent with a short left that put him flat on his face. Ramirez obviously wasn’t hurt because he performed well the rest of the round but the tone of the fight had changed.

The knockdown in Round 7 made that clear. The fighters were in the process of untangling when, with about 30 seconds remaining in the round, Ramirez let his guard down and took a perfect left uppercut to the chin that put him flat on his back and hurt him.

Ramirez, who staggered as he got up, was able to survive the round but he didn’t fully recover until some point in Round 8, after which he had some of his best rounds.

Taylor must’ve thought that he had a big lead on the scorecards because he became relatively passive, allowing a desperate Ramirez to outwork him and climb back into the fight. Ramirez won three of the final four rounds on two cards, all four on the third.

Taylor celebrates after becoming undisputed 140-pound champion. AP Photo / John Locher

Boxing Junkie also scored the fight 114-112 for Taylor, six rounds each. And it gave Ramirez three of the final four rounds.

Still, Taylor was critical of the scoring afterward.

“I thought the scorecards were a little tight,” he said. “I thought they were well wider than that. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of the judges, but I wasn’t going to moan. I was confident in winning this fight anyway.”

Of course, a victory is a victory. And Taylor couldn’t have been much happier.

He knows that his countrymen will now speak of him in the same breath as the great Hall of Famer Ken Buchanan, the lightweight champion from the early 1970s who is from the town in which Taylor was born, Edinburgh.

Taylor plans to visit Buchanan – undoubtedly with his four belts in tow – when he returns to Scotland.

“I did it just like you champ!” Taylor said directly to his countryman as he was interviewed. “I’ll see you when I get home. Much love. He’s a legend. You gave me so much inspiration to do it, and I’m just like you. See you soon, champ.”

Taylor said before the fight on Saturday that he would be interested in moving up to 147 pounds to challenge pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, who shares Bob Arum as a promoter.

However, he said nothing about his next fight immediately after his victory on Saturday. He was 100% invested in his celebration.

Meanwhile, Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) didn’t speak to the media immediately after the fight but his trainer – Robert Garcia – did. Garcia said he was told by someone at ringside that referee Kenny Bayless, trying to break the fighters, was holding Ramirez’s arm when he was knocked down for the second time.

However, replays made it clear that wasn’t the case. Ramirez might’ve been distracted but it was a fair knockdown.

“Taylor is the undisputed champ,” Garcia said. “I congratulate him. You don’t see that often. He definitely earned it, he made history. I gotta go back and see the fight. People were telling me in the second knockdown … the ref was holding Jose’s hand and he got hit. I have to see it.

“But, hey, we can’t win ’em all.”

[lawrence-related id=20428]

Kenneth Sims Jr. upsets 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodiguez

Kenneth Sims Jr. upset 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodiguez on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Kenneth Sims Jr. has arrived.

The 27-year-old Chicago fighter outboxed previously unbeaten 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodriguez to win a majority decision in an eight-round bout on the Josh Taylor-Jose Rodriguez card Saturday in Las Vegas.

One judge scored it 76-76 but the other two had Sims winning 78-74.

Sims (16-2-1, 5 KOs) controlled the fight with an incessant jab, well-timed counterpunches and intelligent footwork, which made it difficult for Rodriguez (11-1-1, 10 KOS) to land big punches.

The 25-year-old Dominican, who is trained by Freddie Roach, had his moments in a competitive fight. He simply couldn’t land consistently enough to take charge.

Kenneth Sims Jr. upsets 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodiguez

Kenneth Sims Jr. upset 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodiguez on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Kenneth Sims Jr. has arrived.

The 27-year-old Chicago fighter outboxed previously unbeaten 140-pound prospect Elvis Rodriguez to win a majority decision in an eight-round bout on the Josh Taylor-Jose Rodriguez card Saturday in Las Vegas.

One judge scored it 76-76 but the other two had Sims winning 78-74.

Sims (16-2-1, 5 KOs) controlled the fight with an incessant jab, well-timed counterpunches and intelligent footwork, which made it difficult for Rodriguez (11-1-1, 10 KOS) to land big punches.

The 25-year-old Dominican, who is trained by Freddie Roach, had his moments in a competitive fight. He simply couldn’t land consistently enough to take charge.

Jose Ramirez in optimal condition physically and mentally, unlike in his last fight

Jose Ramirez said he’s in optimal condition physically and mentally going into his fight with Josh Taylor, which wasn’t so in his last bout.

One reason Josh Taylor is a 2-1 favorite to defeat Jose Ramirez in their title-unification showdown Saturday might be Ramirez’s performance in his last fight.

Ramirez defeated veteran Viktor Postol by a majority decision to retain his two 140-pound titles last August but it wasn’t a dominating performance, as we’ve come to expect from the former U.S. Olympian.

What went wrong? He was worn out, which he said won’t be a problem this Saturday at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

The Ramirez-Postol fight was postponed twice because of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning Ramirez essentially endured at least parts of three training camps over most of a full year. He said he threw relatively few punches in the fight because he simply didn’t have the energy to throw more.

“This was a perfect training camp compared to the ones last year,” Ramirez said Thursday during the final news conference. “There was a lot of frustration. The way I train is really hard. The whole year I was training. There was a lot of wear and tear on my body. …

“My problem in that fight [against Postol] was a lack of activity, not throwing that many punches. That was based on me being tired, mentally and physically.”

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) was asked about being the underdog, according to the oddsmakers. He clearly isn’t fazed.

“You know, to be quite honest, this is the biggest fight of my career,” he said. “For this fight I was motivated to train like an underdog even if I was the favorite. The oddsmakers, people’s opinions are not going to help me and they’re not going to help Josh.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity, the honor to face a guy like Josh, being a part of this great event, one of the most-exciting fights of the year. I’m just happy.”

Ramirez also was asked about what a victory would mean to him.

Of course, his focus is on the task at hand. Most important, he must make weight Friday afternoon before he can step into the ring on Saturday night. However, the concept of becoming a rare undisputed champion certainly isn’t lost on him.

“It would be quite and honor and a blessing, a beautiful thing,” he said. “To be honest, I’m so focused on the fight, just thinking about today and tomorrow, making weight, getting my body the proper nutrients to be strong Saturday so I can go out and perform.

“But I’m definitely enjoying every moment of the experience. I can always speak to my kids and my kids’ kids about it. It will be a part of my legacy.”

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Jose Ramirez in optimal condition physically and mentally, unlike in his last fight

Jose Ramirez said he’s in optimal condition physically and mentally going into his fight with Josh Taylor, which wasn’t so in his last bout.

One reason Josh Taylor is a 2-1 favorite to defeat Jose Ramirez in their title-unification showdown Saturday might be Ramirez’s performance in his last fight.

Ramirez defeated veteran Viktor Postol by a majority decision to retain his two 140-pound titles last August but it wasn’t a dominating performance, as we’ve come to expect from the former U.S. Olympian.

What went wrong? He was worn out, which he said won’t be a problem this Saturday at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

The Ramirez-Postol fight was postponed twice because of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning Ramirez essentially endured at least parts of three training camps over most of a full year. He said he threw relatively few punches in the fight because he simply didn’t have the energy to throw more.

“This was a perfect training camp compared to the ones last year,” Ramirez said Thursday during the final news conference. “There was a lot of frustration. The way I train is really hard. The whole year I was training. There was a lot of wear and tear on my body. …

“My problem in that fight [against Postol] was a lack of activity, not throwing that many punches. That was based on me being tired, mentally and physically.”

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) was asked about being the underdog, according to the oddsmakers. He clearly isn’t fazed.

“You know, to be quite honest, this is the biggest fight of my career,” he said. “For this fight I was motivated to train like an underdog even if I was the favorite. The oddsmakers, people’s opinions are not going to help me and they’re not going to help Josh.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity, the honor to face a guy like Josh, being a part of this great event, one of the most-exciting fights of the year. I’m just happy.”

Ramirez also was asked about what a victory would mean to him.

Of course, his focus is on the task at hand. Most important, he must make weight Friday afternoon before he can step into the ring on Saturday night. However, the concept of becoming a rare undisputed champion certainly isn’t lost on him.

“It would be quite and honor and a blessing, a beautiful thing,” he said. “To be honest, I’m so focused on the fight, just thinking about today and tomorrow, making weight, getting my body the proper nutrients to be strong Saturday so I can go out and perform.

“But I’m definitely enjoying every moment of the experience. I can always speak to my kids and my kids’ kids about it. It will be a part of my legacy.”

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