Undercard: Ramos pounds Figueroa into sixth-round submission in title eliminator

Fundora stops Cota in 4th; Lara starches LaManna in 1st

Welterweight Abel Ramos beat down former lightweight world titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. en route to a sixth-round knockout in a title eliminator on Saturday night.

The surprisingly one-sided fight was the co-feature of the Premier Boxing Champions Fox pay-per-view card headlined by the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Chris Arreola heavyweight fight at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Ramos (27-4-2, 21 KOs), 29, of Casa Grande, Arizona, beat and battered Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs), 21, of Weslaco, Texas, for the entire fight and was ahead 60-54 on all three scorecards when the bout was stopped in the corner after the sixth.

They were both coming off losses to Yordenis Ugas, who went on to claim a belt. But Ramos had lost a split decision and Figueroa had taken another pounding.

“Omar is a very tricky fighter. He has an awkward defense and it was hard to catch him clean at first, but the fight overall went as planned,” Ramos said. “I trained so hard for this fight. I knew my career was on the line. I knew I needed a win and I knew Omar would bring a good fight. I'm glad to be back on the winning side and I'm ready to take on the best of the division.”

Figueroa had bruising under his left eye by the third round from eating so many right hands. After the sixth round, referee Jerry Cantu stopped it at the suggestion of Figueroa’s corner.

“We trained hard for this fight and I felt good heading into the ring,” Figueroa said. “I’m disappointed I came up short. My body just wouldn’t respond like I wanted it to.”

Fundora stops Cota

Rising junior middleweight contender Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora stopped Jorge Cota in the fourth round of their action-packed but one-sided junior middleweight title eliminator.

“My message to the rest of the division is that we're here,” Fundora said. “If you’re ready for war, we're ready to take it. Bring it on.”

The 6-foot-6 Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KOs), 23, a southpaw from Coachella, California, and Cota (30-5, 27 KOs), 33, of Mexico, came out swinging in a tremendously action-packed first round of two-way punching, but eventually Fundora took control. He busted up Cota’s face and hurt him time and again.

He rocked Cota in the fourth round and it was surprising he did not go down. Later in the fourth, Fundora unloaded massive punishment but it wasn’t until after Cota responded by landing an overhand right that referee Ray Corona stopped the bout at 2 minutes 35 seconds, angering Cota.

“It was a good trading fight,” Fundora said. “We were hitting each other, but my punches were doing more damage and that's why the referee eventually stepped in. I think he could have been stopped earlier in the round. I just kept fighting until the end. I saw his leg wobble in the first round, but he took it and kept coming. The second time I saw it, I knew I had to go for the kill.”

Cota called the ending a “bad stoppage,” adding, “I felt like they stopped the fight early considering I had just landed a big punch. Too fast, too soon. The fans expressed their feelings. They were clearly upset by how the fight ended. That’s why I raised my hands. There is plenty more of Cota to come in the future.”

Cota came into the fight having won two fights in a row since back-to-back losses to Jeison Rosario, who would go on to win a unified world title, by split decision in April 2019 and Jermell Charlo by third-round knockout as a late replacement in a June 2019 nontitle bout.

Ramos schools Molina

Top welterweight prospect Jesus Ramos (16-0, 14 KOs), 20, a southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona — co-feature winner Abel Ramos’ nephew — routed 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina (22-4, 9 KOs), 31, of Norwalk, California, handing him his second loss in a row.

Facing the most notable opponent of his career, Ramos was sharp en rout to winning 99-90, 99-90 and 97-92.

“We love knockouts, but we're glad at this point in my career that I got the experience,” said Ramos, who landed many stiff jabs and left hooks. “I might have been looking for a knockout too much in the early rounds. I got used to it and I settled down and I felt like I was breaking him down little by little. He was trying to survive a little bit, so it made it harder to get the knockout.”

Referee Gerard White penalized Molina one point for hitting Ramos in the back of the head in the seventh round.

Lara obliterates LaManna

In a fight televised live on Fox preceding the pay-per-view, secondary junior middleweight titlist Erislandy Lara drilled massively overmatched Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna in 80 seconds to claim a vacant secondary middleweight title.

Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs), 38, a Cuban southpaw fighting out of Houston, who holds a secondary junior middleweight belt, moved up in weight and banged out LaManna (30-5-1, 12 KOs), 29, of Millville, New Jersey, with a single devastating straight left hand. The shot nailed LaManna near his ear and he crumpled to the mat. Referee Thomas Taylor immediately waved off the fight and called for medical attention.

“He said at the press conference that he was going to knock me out, but he ran right into that punch. Maybe he was overthinking it all along,” Lara said of LaManna, who had never beaten anyone remotely notable yet was still approved by the WBA to be in a world title bout.

Lara said he is open to any major fight at either 154 or 160 pounds.

“I felt strong and sharp tonight at middleweight, but I still want all of the big fights at 154 pounds too,” Lara said. “I want the winner of the Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano (undisputed title). (Middleweight titlist) Jermall Charlo is like family. We worked in the same gym for years, but this is a sport and I'd welcome the challenge. I feel great physically. I'm going to keep doing this until my body tells me I can't do it anymore. I don't feel like I've taken a lot of punishment in my career and I know I have at least another three years of my prime left.”

Ramirez knocks out Avelar

Featherweight Eduardo Ramirez knocked out Mexican countryman Isaac Avelar in the third round to win a vacant interim title.

Ramirez (25-2-3, 12 KOs), 28, a southpaw, who won his third fight in a row, each by knockout, broke through in the third round when he dropped Avelar with a right hook early in the round. Avelar (17-3, 10 KOs) ran into another Ramirez right hook that rocked him and had him apparently out on his feet, prompting referee Gerard White to stop the bout at 1:16. Avelar has lost three of his last four.

“You have to have a stone-cold mindset, and that’s what we had to finish Avelar off,” Ramirez said. “We were able to connect the right combinations to finish the fight off exactly how we wanted. I am beyond happy right now. I'm just elated and moved by having been able to fulfill the promise I made to my baby boy Eduardo Ramirez Jr. He just turned two years old and I wasn’t able to be there to give him a hug for his birthday, but I had promised him that I would bring the title back home to him as a gift, and that is exactly what I’m doing now.”

Ramirez said he would to face titleholder Leo Santa Cruz.

“I would now like to have the chance to fight against Leo Santa Cruz. I previously fought against Miguel Flores, who barely lasted four or five rounds against me, but Leo couldn’t knock him out,” Ramirez said. “This convincing knockout should be my ticket to have that opportunity.”

Ramos-Figueroa and Fundora-Cota photos: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions; Ramos-Molina and Lara-LaManna photos: Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports