Zurdo destroys Boesel in eliminator
Zepeda outslugs Alvarado in epic brawl in co-feature; Kovalev outpoints Pulev in cruiserweight debut; Evan Holyfield knocked out
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Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez assured himself of a world title shot as he blew out overmatched Dominic Boesel in a one-sided fourth-round knockout victory in a WBA final elimination bout on Saturday night in the Golden Boy main event on DAZN at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Ramirez, the much bigger man, had his way with former interim titlist Boesel from the outset to lock up a shot at the 175-pound world title currently held by Russia’s Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), who retained the title for the ninth time one week earlier with his upset decision over Canelo Alvarez.
Now, Ramirez wants his shot at Bivol, who he has been chasing for a year.
“Everyone knows I want Bivol,” said Ramirez, the former WBO super middleweight titleholder. “He needs to stop running and sign the contract. I’m coming for you and that belt. I deserve that fight. I think I can beat him since I’m bigger, stronger and smarter.”
Boesel proved to be nothing more than a bump in the road. Ramirez opened the fight at a quick pace and overpowered Boesel with a series of right uppercuts.
In the second round, Ramirez (44-0, 29 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from Mexico, pelted Boesel (32-3, 12 KOs), 32, of Germany, with body shots and more uppercuts, and it looked like the fight would not last much longer.
It was more of the same in the third round. In the fourth round, Ramirez forced Boesel to the ropes and unloaded many shots. Eventually, he connected with a right hook to the body and Boesel went down, and referee Thomas Taylor waved it off at 1 minute, 33 seconds.
“I feel great about my performance,” Ramirez said. “As I said, I would put on a spectacular show here in LA. I got the victory via knockout. I was expecting his best. We were expecting heavy shots. I trained way too hard for this position, and no one will take it from me. I used my distance more, and I attacked the body more. I know my last fight was tough, but I was really prepared for this one. I ate more tacos for this fight. I feel this is my natural weight.”
Boesel has been stopped in all three of his defeats.
“I thought I would hit him more with my jab,” Boesel said. “I came confidently to this fight. He got me in the liver with the first punch. I couldn’t do much when I got hit with the body shot.”
Zepeda outslugs Alvarado
In the co-feature, exciting Mexican lightweight William Zepeda (26-0, 23 KOs), a 25-year-old southpaw, retained his regional belt in an all-out slugfest with former junior lightweight titlist Rene Alvarado (32-12, 21 KOs), 33, of Nicaragua.
They fought toe to toe for virtually the entire fight but it was the younger, fresher, more powerful Zepeda who was faster and hit harder in a unanimous decision victory. The judges had it 96-94, 97-93 and a surprisingly wide 98-92.
“It was a great fight with a great fighter,” Zepeda said through an interpreter. “I have a lot to learn, and we need to work on some things. I want to thank Alvarado for the opportunity.
“He gave me some of his experience, which I am grateful for. We’re going to keep giving it our all. Now to enjoy this victory. Thank you to all my fans.”
According to CompuBox statistics, Zepeda landed 316 of 956 punches (33 percent) and Alvarado landed 206 of 1,391 (15 percent). Alvarado’s punches thrown were the fourth-most recorded in a lightweight fight in CompuBox’s 37-year history. Their combined 2,347 punches thrown were third-most in a lightweight fight tracked.
Kovalev wins cruiserweight debut
Former three-time light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev, once one of the best and most destructive fighters in the world, returned from a 2½-year layoff and won his cruiserweight debut on Saturday night.
The 39-year-old Kovalev handily outpointed Tervel Pulev in the main event of the Triller Fight Club card at The Forum in Inglewood, California, winning 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93.
The fight was the first for Kovalev (35-4-1, 29 KOs), a Russia native fighting out of Long Beach, California, since Canelo Alvarez brutally knocked him out in the 11th round to take his WBO 175-pound title in November 2019. A January 2021 return fight against Bektemir Melikuziev was scrapped when Kovalev tested positive for synthetic testosterone, and he also had legal issues.
But Kovalev put all of that behind him against Pulev (16-1, 13 KOs), 39, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Bulgaria, as he turned in a dominant performance.
Instead of the go-for-broke knockout artist he was at light heavyweight, Kovalev relied more on boxing ability against Pulev, sticking to trainer Buddy McGirt’s constant reminders to use his jab — although Kovalev also fired many combinations.
“I’m just going to keep in shape after this fight,” Kovalev said. “We’ll rest one week and then get back in the gym. I worried how it was going to be in the fight. Of course, there was some ring rust. Without boxing at a high level for over a year, my body doesn’t like this. I want to fight every three or four months.
“The plan was just to use the jab and distance. But I felt like I didn’t have enough energy in my body. I think in my next fight, it would be at a higher level. Give me one more fight, and I’ll be ready for a world title opportunity.”
Also on the card:
Former two-time heavyweight title challenger Kubrat Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs), 41, of Bulgaria, Tervel’s older brother, rocked southpaw Jerry Forrest (26-5-2, 20 KOs), 34, of Newport News, Virginia, twice with right hands in the fourth round and won 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92.
In an upset, junior middleweight Jurmain McDonald (7-5, 3 KOs), 32, of Jefferson City, Missouri, knocked out Evan Holyfield, (9-1, 6 KOs), 24, of Atlanta, the son of legendary heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, with a right hand at 1:56 of the second round.
The three Las Vegas-based fighting sons of former junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas also were victorious:
Emiliano Vargas (1-0, 1 KO), 18, made his pro debut and knocked out Mark Salgado (1-2-1, 1 KO), 23, of San Jose, California, in at 2:09 of the first round.
Junior middleweight Fernando Vargas Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs), a 25-year-old southpaw, dropped Terrance Jarmon (3-1, 1 KO), 25, of Ohio, three times with left hands to get the knockout at 2:25 of the first round.
Junior lightweight Amado Vargas (4-0, 2 KOs), 21, won a four-round decision over Anel Dudo (1-4-1, 1 KO), 24, of Aurora, Colorado. All three judges scored it 39-36.
Ramirez-Boesel and Zepeda-Alvarado photos: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy; Kovalev-Pulev photo: Sye Williams/Triller
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Since Bivol can't fight the winner of Beterbiev vs Smith Jr due to the WBC, WBO & IBF suspension on Russian boxers it seems Ramirez will get his title fight with Bivol as long as Canelo doesn't go for an immediate rematch.
It would be an interesting fight between two very good fighters. Ramirez probably has the more powerful punch but from what I've seen of both lads I think Bivol is probably the better boxer.
That’s wasn’t a boxing match, it was a beatdown clinic.