Notebook: Ramirez much smaller than Espinoza but still big favorite
Showtime finale expanded to 4 bouts with addition of Guerrero-Berto II; Foster to defend vs. Nova; Billam-Smith ready to go Sunday; BetUS show; Haney-Prograis purses; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Robeisy Ramirez won the vacant WBO featherweight title via lopsided decision against Isaac Dogboe in April in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and made his first defense by knocking out Satoshi Shimizu in the fifth round in July in Tokyo.
For defense No. 2, the Cuban defector could not be happier that he will be fighting in his adopted home area of South Florida, and in front of a fellow Cubans when he faces Rafael Espinoza in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at the sold-out Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
“Aside from being very concentrated on this fight, I am also very excited and happy to be able to defend my world title in (the) Miami (area), where I know my Cuban people will be in attendance,” Ramirez said through an interpreter at the news conference this week. “I’m excited for the show we’ll be delivering this Saturday.”
Ramirez (13-1, 8 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw, who was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is a heavy favorite against Espinoza (21-0, 18 KOs), 29, of Mexico.
While Espinoza’s record is devoid of recognizable opponents, he obviously has good power and, at 6-foot-1, he also is much taller than the 5-6 Ramirez. But Ramirez did not sound too concerned about having such a big height disadvantage.
“I have never struggled with taller fighter,” Ramirez said. “But with regard to how I will fight, I leave that to my trainer, Ismael Salas.”
For Espinoza, the fight is chance of a lifetime.
“This is a moment that all boxers hope for,” Espinoza said through an interpreter. “I have been wanting this opportunity ever since I first put on a pair of gloves. Now I’m here. This means everything to me.
“I always try to use my height advantage. My body has been blessed with this height, and I don’t even struggle to make weight. Obviously, I use it to my advantage, but like all Mexicans, I like coming forward, too. My 21 fights are behind me, and what I have in front of me is this important opportunity, this world title fight.”
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In the 10-round co-feature, up-and-coming Puerto Rican junior middleweight Xander Zayas (17-0, 11 KOs), 21, from nearby Sunrise, Florida, will face Jorge Fortea (24-3-1, 9 KOs), 33, of Spain, who has won three fights in a row.
“I am determined to close the year with a bang and to continue positioning myself as one of the main contenders at junior middleweight,” said Zayas, who will be fighting in his home region for the first time. “In the new year, I’m aiming to continuing my climb up the ranks step by step. That is why I push myself to give my all every day in the gym. You will see a better version of me every time I fight.”
As it relates to Fortea, who has been knocked out twice, Zayas said, “I don’t feel like there’s anything special (about him). The speed is something that could concern me. He’s not faster or stronger than me, but he does have some good speed.”
Preliminary bouts will stream on ESPN+ beginning at 5:40 p.m. ET.
We have taken my recent interviews Regis Prograis and Devin Haney that ran within separate podcasts and put them together on one show ahead of their showdown on Saturday night. Give it a listen! Also, subscribe to the pod for an alert as soon as the next episode drops.
4-bout Showtime finale
The final boxing event on Showtime has been expanded from three bouts to four, the network and PBC announced, and will include a blast from the past in the opener of the Dec. 16 card at The Armory in Minneapolis.
It will be a 10-round welterweight bout between 40-year-old former world titleholders Robert Guerrero and Andre Berto, who both had their biggest fights in losses to Floyd Mayweather and were Showtime regulars at one point.
Gilroy, California, native Guerrero (37-6-1, 20 KOs) dropped Berto (32-5, 24 KOs), of Winter Haven, Florida, twice and won a unanimous decision — 116-110 on all three scorecards — in a WBC interim welterweight title bout in 2012.
Guerrero, who has won titles at featherweight and junior lightweight plus interim belts at lightweight and welterweight, has boxed once since 2019, a decision over Victor Ortiz in August 2021.
“I won my first world title on ‘ShoBox,’ so it’s an honor to be fighting on the last Showtime boxing event,” Guerrero said. “Berto and I already went to war once, and now we’re gonna meet again. At the end of the day, the fans are gonna win.”
Berto, a two-time welterweight titlist, hasn’t had a fight since a split decision win over Devon Alexander in August 2018.
“I’m excited to be performing again and to help close out a legendary chapter of Showtime boxing,” Berto said. “This rematch with Robert Guerrero has been looming in my spirit for years. It’s a fight that I always wanted to get back before I left this game. I’m the type of man who loves to right his wrongs, the same way that I did with Victor Ortiz. I’ve had a hell of a camp and I’m looking forward to putting on a hell of a performance.”
In the main event, WBA “regular” super middleweight titleholder David Morrell (9-0, 8 KOs), 25, a Cuban defector based in Minneapolis, will defend against Sena Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs), 31, a Ghana native fighting out of Nashville.
“It’s a great honor to be fighting in the main event on Showtime’s final show, especially in Minneapolis at The Armory where I call home,” Morrell said. “I’m going to bring my best effort forward and give the fans a spectacular performance worthy of this occasion. I specifically asked for the Sena Agbeko fight because he was saying I was avoiding him. Now that the fight is on, I’m going to punish him.”
The co-feature is a rematch between Chris Colbert (17-1, 6 KOs), 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jose Valenzuela (12-2, 8 KOs), 24, a Mexico native fighting out of Seattle, who meet in a WBA lightweight title eliminator. Colbert won a controversial decision in their first fight in March.
“I’m happy to be back to quiet this sucker once and for all,” Colbert said. “I’m going to show him that there are levels to this boxing game.”
Also, WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Martinez (20-2, 15 KOs), 28, of Mexico, will make his seventh defense against Angelino Cordova (18-0-1, 12 KOs), 28, of Venezuela.
Paramount Global, which is Showtime’s parent company, has announced that it will shutter Showtime Sports, including the boxing franchise, after 37 years, at the end of the year.
Foster defense finalized
WBC junior lightweight titlist O’Shaquie Foster, who signed a promotional deal with Top Rank last month, will make his second defense against Abraham Nova on Feb. 16 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, Top Rank announced on Friday, confirming the date and location Fight Freaks Unite previously reported.
“O’Shaquie Foster wants to prove he is the best junior lightweight in the world, and he’ll have an opportunity to make that statement against a determined, powerful challenger in Abraham Nova,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who turned 92 on Friday.
Foster (21-2, 12 KOs), 30, of Orange, Texas, was a promotional free agent when he made his first defense against mandatory challenger Rocky Hernandez on Oct. 28 in Cancun, Mexico, on a Matchroom Boxing card and, trailing on two scorecards going into the 12th round, he scored two knockdowns and rallied for a dramatic knockout in an outstanding fight to retain the title. Soon after, Foster signed with Top Rank, which also promotes Nova.
“It’s always been my dream to fight at Madison Square Garden, and what better promoter to make this all happen than Top Rank,” Foster said. “As a kid watching all the greats fight at MSG inspired me to want to be a part of the history that comes with fighting at such a legendary place. I’m ready to put on a show and keep proving that I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Nova (23-1, 16 KOs), 29, a Puerto Rico native fighting out Albany, New York, has won fights in a row since moving up to 130 pounds following a fifth-round knockout loss to Robeisy Ramirez in a featherweight title eliminator in June 2022.
“My team and I have earned this opportunity to bring a world title back home,” Nova said. “You know what I bring, and you know what I’m about. No fear, no doubt.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked four fights: Regis Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight title defense against Devin Haney on Saturday (DAZN PPV); Robeisy Ramirez’s WBO featherweight title defense against Rafael Espinoza on Saturday (ESPN) and the junior middleweight co-feature between Xander Zayas and Jorge Fortea; and WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith’s defense versus Mateusz Masternak on Sunday (Peacock in U.S., Sky Sports in U.K.). We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Billam-Smith hometown defense
Some boxers can be overcome by distractions fighting at home but WBO cruiserweight titleholder Chris Billam-Smith (18-1, 12 KOs), 33, is not one of them.
The favorite son of Bournemouth, England, has thrived in front of hometown crowds, who have turned out in droves to support him and it figures to be no different when he makes his first defense against Mateusz Masternak on Sunday (Peacock in U.S., 1 p.m. ET; Sky Sports in U.K.) before a sold-out crowd at the Bournemouth International Centre.
“The dream was always to win the world title at the Bournemouth Stadium and I got the opportunity to do that,” Billam-Smith said at this week’s news conference, referring to his majority decision over friend and countryman Lawrence Okolie to claim the belt May in a fight in which he dropped Okolie three times. “Before that, we fought for years to get shows down here — and now we’ve had four back-to-back. We did our part to make it happen and, of course, (so have) the fans who have turned out to create the amazing atmospheres that everyone loves. I can’t wait to walk out on Sunday as defending champion.
“I’m a proud champion. Now I want to cement that legacy and on Sunday night, walking out in front of that crowd gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. As long as Masternak’s career has been, as many big fights as he’s had, I don’t think he would have ever experienced an atmosphere like this.”
Former European champion Masternak (47-5, 31 KOs), 36, of Poland, who has won six fights in a row since a decision loss to former titlist Yuniel Dorticos in 2018, is getting the first world title shot of his 17-year career.
“My journey in boxing has been going on for a long time,” Masternak said at the news conference. “I believe the preparation for this fight has been magical. I believe on (Sunday) the WBO belt will be mine.”
Quick hits
Weights from San Francisco for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN PPV: Regis Prograis 139 pounds, Devin Haney 140 (for Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight title); Liam Paro 140, Montana Love 140; Andy Cruz 134.4, Jovanni Straffon 134; Ebanie Bridges 117.8, Miyo Yoshida 117.6 (for Bridges’ IBF women’s bantamweight title); Amari Jones 159.2, Quilisto Madera 160; Beatriz Ferreira 130, Destiny Jones 129.8; Shamar Canal 132, Jose Antonio Meza 131.8.
Per the California State Athletic Commission, official contract purses for the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN PPV on Saturday: Regis Prograis $1.5 million, Devin Haney $1.5 million (although, per sources, Prograis is guaranteed $3 million and Haney at least $4 million); Liam Paro $62,500, Montana Love $62,500; Andy Cruz $75,000, Jovanni Straffon $20,000; Ebanie Bridges $40,000, Miyo Yoshida $30,000; Amari Jones $15,000, Quilisto Madera $800 (not a typo); Beatriz Ferreira $10,000, Destiny Jones $7,500; Shamar Canal $5,000, Jose Antonio Meza $3,000.
Weights from Pembroke Pines, Florida, for Saturday’s Top Rank card on ESPN: Robeisy Ramirez 125.6 pounds, Rafael Espinoza 125.3 (for Ramirez’s WBO featherweight title); Xander Zayas 153.6, Jorge Fortea 1537; Bruce Carrington 125.8, Jason Sanchez 125.7; Richard Torrez Jr. 230.8, Curtis Harper 273.9; Jahi Tucker 155.2, Francisco Daniel Veron 155.1; Rohan Polanco 142.9, Keith Hunter 139.3; Tiger Johnson 141.6, Jimmer Espinosa 141.2; Damian Knyba 264.1, Michael Coffie 290.9.
As expected, the vacant interim WBA junior welterweight title bout between Ohara Davies and Ismael Barroso, initially scheduled as the Ryan Garcia-Oscar Duarte co-feature Dec. 2, was rescheduled as the co-feature of the junior middleweight debut of Vergil Ortiz Jr. against Fredrick Lawson on Jan. 6 (DAZN) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Golden Boy announced Friday. The fight was postponed a few days beforehand because Davies (25-2, 18 KOs), 31, of England, had not secured a visa in time. The WBA agreed to sanction Davies against former title challenger Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KOs), 40, a southpaw from Venezuela, for the interim belt because titlist Rolando Romero is sidelined for several months due to a back injury.
Former WBA junior welterweight titlist Alberto Puello (21-0, 10 KOs), 29, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, is scheduled to fight Ector Madera (11-0, 6 KOs), 27, of Stockton, California, in an eight-rounder on the David Morrell-Sena Agbeko undercard on Dec. 16 at The Armory in Minneapolis. Puello-Maderna is not part of the Showtime broadcast. Puello will be fighting for the first time since testing positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug clomiphene in a sample provided to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on April 5. The positive test caused him to be dropped from a defense against Rolando Romero scheduled to headline May 13 on Showtime and be stripped of the title. He was also suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Show and tell
All-time great rivals Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had fought three epic championship fights at featherweight, junior lightweight and welterweight with disputed outcomes in all three — a draw in the first fight, Pacquiao by split decision in the rematch and by majority decision in No. 3. Officially, Pacquiao was up 2-0-1 even though many felt Marquez could certainly be up 3-0. Then they met for a fourth time in a nontitle bout at welterweight with one of the key storylines going into the HBO PPV fight, which I covered at ringside at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, being the desire of both fighters for a conclusive result. As fantastic as their first three fights were, the fourth surpassed all of them in terms of all-out action and finally offered the most definitive result possible.
Marquez dropped Pacquiao in the third round, but he rallied to drop Marquez, who was bleeding badly from his nose, in the fifth round of a wild action fight. Pacquiao appeared on the verge of a stoppage victory in the sixth round but when the clapper hit to signal 10 seconds were left, he seemed to relax for a moment and walked into a massive, and I mean massive, overhand right from Marquez that Pacquiao never saw. It landed flush and knocked Pacquiao out cold face first at the edge of the ring directly in front of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, who were at ringside. Marquez, with blood streaming down his face, celebrated wildly and climbed the ring post as Pacquiao received immediate medical attention and HBO commentator Roy Jones famously opined to blow-by-blow man, “He ain’t getting’ up, Jim!”
The Pacquiao-Marquez series ended with Pacquiao winning 2-1-1 but with Marquez having gotten the definitive result he wanted. The fight was the consensus fight of the year and the knockout of the year and was, to many, the 2010s fight of the decade. It took place on Dec. 8, 2012 — 11 years ago on Thursday. I have eight different official posters from the fight in my collection but this one is my favorite — an extraordinarily rare thin cardboard sponsor poster that was on display at the MGM Grand during fight week. Also, here is my ringside credential, having been fortunate to be ringside for all four of their fights.
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Photos: Ramirez-Espinoza: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Billam-Smith-Masternak: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer; Haney-Prograis: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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