On The Watch ”It’s All About The Ring Magazine Fatal Fury in Times Square”

Ring’s Fatal Fury “City of the Wolves”

Last night’s three-card Fatal Fury in Times Square Main Event brought to us by his Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment, sadly, did not live up to the “HYPE” created by the unknown and the expected excitement.

The closed-out location at Times Square, the production and the Ring, created a different scene and atmosphere that will forever be remembered but where things went left is with the performances that some of the chosen talent for the night who neglected to perform at their peak form on this historical night. Real talk!

First up on the Main Event night was WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 Kos) defending his Championship Belts against undefeated mandatory challenger Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 Kos). Although Barboza earned his way to the mandatory position and talked a good game throughout the build-up, he quickly found out that there are levels to this boxing sh*t and on this night, Lopez produced a dominant performance that will forever haunt Barboza. Lopez outworked, outhustled, outboxed and outgunned Barboza who is a very good boxer but lacked the proper skill set and “game plan” to dethrone the Champ on the night. After 12 one-sided rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 unanimously for Teofimo Lopez. Well done!

Next up was Devin Haney (32-0, 15 Kos) and Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 Kos) who met up at a catch weight of 144 Lbs. Haney, who talked a good game during the build-up of the bout failed miserably to capture the hearts of viewers at home and in attendance. Neither combatant pressed the action or threw enough leather to land anything significant. I expected Devin, who hadn’t fought in a year, to come out the gate pumped up and ready for some action but what we got was a shell-shocked safety-first reluctant fighter, who put the viewers and fans in attendance to sleep. Ramirez did himself no favours as well with his own lack of activity. It was a very disappointing performance by both combatants on such a big stage like this. Nevertheless, the Judges at hand called it 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110 unanimously for Devin Haney.

The final bout of the night belonged to Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 Kos) and Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 Kos) who met up at the Welterweight Division. With “Rolly” being counted out and labeled the underdog, he wasted no time asserting himself and pressed the action to score an impressive second-round knockdown over Garcia that changed the flow of the bout as it progressed. Garcia looked flat and disengaged, unable to pull the trigger on “Rolly” who was calm and disciplined out-boxing Garcia round by round. “Rolly” stuck with the “game plan” and executed it to a “T” and gained mad confidence round by round while Garcia neglected his corner’s instructions and urgency to let his hands go. Although neither combatant threw an abundance of leather, “Rolly” made his presence felt more than none by landing the more telling punches.

After 12 rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-109, 115-112 and 115-112 unanimously for Rolando “Rolly” Romero. You were counted out and you prevailed and silenced all the naysayers. With this impressive win under your belt, you are now the proud owner of the vacant WBA “Regular” Welterweight Championship Title. Well done Champ and enjoy this well-earned victory

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez”

Junior Welterweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Main Event at the Virgin Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada between Junior Welterweight IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Champion Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 Kos) and Junior Welterweight WBC/WBO Champion Jose Ramirez (26-1, 17 Kos), lived up to the hype.

I gotta tip my “B” hat to Josh for walking it like he talked it. Dude is a bad man inside that squared circle. His confidence never waivers inside or outside the ring. He’s an exceptional boxer with a high boxing IQ that benefited him well in last night’s Unification clash with Jose.

Jose fought well and stood his ground and asserted himself when it got rough, aside from a few lapses that eventually cost him dearly. Both combatants went blow for blow dropping heavy bombs, at times making the rounds entertaining and hard to score.

As close as the rounds were, Josh separated himself when he scored a knockdown in the sixth round and the seventh round. Both knockdowns were sharp and right on the money and clearly hurt Jose, but Ramirez’s strong will to compete carried him to stay competitive throughout the later rounds.

After 12 full rounds of action all three Judges scored it unanimously 114-112 in Josh Taylor’s favor. Jose definitely had his moments but those two knockdowns had sealed his fate.

With this convincing win, Josh collected the WBC/WBO Belts and retained his IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine Championship Belts to now becoming the Undisputed Junior Welterweight Champion of the World. Josh has officially cemented his name in the record books by joining such a prestigious man club that houses the names of Terence Crawford, Oeksandr Usyk, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor and now Josh Taylor as the only five fully unified Champions in any Division during boxing’s four-belt era. Not bad company for the New Champ.

Further congratulations to Josh on also becoming the first Scottish fighter to don all 4 Major Sanctioning Belts in any Division. You deserve all accolades earned Champ. Job well done.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jose Ramirez vs Viktor Postol”

WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank main event at the MGM Grand conference room in Las Vegas, Nevada, between WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Champion Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 Kos) and Viktor Postol (31-3, 12 Kos) was a solid outing by the two combatants.

Postol, the older mandatory challenger, came out and performed exceptionally well and kept it quite interesting with his stiff jab connecting all night but Ramirez’s controlled aggression and power shot kept things honest between the two.

Ramirez quickly found out that Postol was the real deal as the rounds wore on. Postol may be older in age but his Ring IQ is quite unique and can be quite puzzling if you don’t possess the right tools to offset his approach.

That being said, Ramirez did struggle at times but eventually worked his inside game to the body and landed the more damaging shots that may have swayed the Judges in his favor. After 12 rounds of action the Judges scored it 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 for Jose Ramirez.

I tip my “B” hat to Postol who came out and gave the Champion a good run for his money and nearly pulled it off. Personally, with a performance like this one I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch to clear the air.

Unfortunately for Postol, Ramirez has a Unification bout in mind with IBF/WBA Light Welterweight Champion Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 Kos), that is if Josh gets past his IBF mandatory Apinum Khongsong (16-0, 13 Kos) due next month on September 26, 2020.

Until then Jose, congratulations on retaining your WBC/WBO Light Welterweight Championship Belts! You could be one fight away from Undisputed.

Blaze