Albert Ramirez stops Michael Flannery in a night of knockouts

Light heavyweight Albert Ramirez, of El Vigia, Venezuela, punctuated a night of short fights as he scored a second-round highlight-reel knockout against late sub Michael Flannery on Thursday at the Montreal Casino in Montreal.

Ramirez, 33, dropped Flannery in the first round after a big left hand rocked him. Ramirez followed it with a sequence of punches ending with a grazing right hand that sent Flannery to the canvas.

Flannery, a 28-year-old originally from the United Kingdom and now residing in Bangkok, Thailand, found himself outgunned by the 2016 Venezuelan Olympian Ramirez. In the second round, Ramirez landed a right uppercut on the chin of Flannery, who tried to get up from the jarring shot but wasn’t able. The time of stoppage was 1 minute, 9 seconds of Round 2.

During the telecast, Camille Estephan, president of promoter Eye of the Tiger, expressed a willingness to match Ramirez – who improved to 21-0 (18 KOs) – with David Benavidez later this year. Ramirez is currently ranked No. 3 by the WBA, No. 4 by the WBC and WBO, and No. 5 by the IBF.

Flannery fell to 13-1 (11 KOs). This was only his second fight outside of Thailand and his first fight on a national stage.

Also on the card, light heavyweight Mehmet Unal, who trains out of Montreal, stopped Jan Czerklewicz, of Warsaw, Poland, in the first round. The time of the stoppage was 2 minutes, 56 seconds.

Unal, a 2016 Turkish Olympian, dropped the 27-year-old Czerklewicz in the first round with a looping hook. Unal put down his opponent in the same corner again with an overhand right, then closed the show with a right hand that sent Czerklewicz back to the canvas once more, forcing the referee to call the fight off.

The fight marked the best performance of Unal’s career, coming against a former sparring partner whom it was believed would test Unal. Unal has now knocked out his past four opponents, improving to 13-0 (11 KOs).

Czerklewicz is 14-3 (3 KOs) and now on a two-fight losing streak.

Russia’s Arthur Biyarslanov, a junior welterweight who trains out of Toronto, Canada, stopped Antonio Collado, of Quintanar de la Orden, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, in the third round with 38 seconds remaining in the frame.

Biyarslanov recorded four knockdowns in the fight. He dropped Collado twice in the first round, once in the second and finished him in the third. The bout ended with a right hook from the 30-year-old Biyarslanov that landed on Collado’s head. Collado, 25, took the fight on a week’s notice. Notably, Biyarslanov suffered a cut on his left eye at the end of the second round.

Biyarslanov is now 19-0 (16 KOs), while Collado dipped to 19-2 (3 KOs).

France’s Moreno Fendero, a super middleweight who trains out of Montreal, knocked out Kristaps Bulmeistars, of Riga, Latvia, in one round. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes, 46 seconds into the frame.

Bulmeistars appeared to have ankle issues or perhaps picked boots that lacked traction, limping through the opening round before being dropped. A well-timed right hand from Fendero put down Bulmeistars.

Fendero, 26, improved to 10-0 (8 KOs), while the 32-year-old Bulmeistars fell to 13-4 (5 KOs).

Junior welterweight Wyatt Sanford, of Kennetcook, Nova Scotia, Canada, stopped Tomas Lastra, of Santiago de Chile, Chile, in the first round. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes, 59 seconds.

Sanford, 26, dropped Lastra with a left hand in Round 1. Lastra beat the count but was stopped when the referee intervened. Sanford trapped Lastra in the corner, letting fly a flurry of punches to which Lastra was unable to respond. 

Sanford, a 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, improved to 2-0 (2 KOs). Lastra suffered the first loss of his career to slip to 2-1 (1 KO).

In the opening bout, junior lightweight Armenian Erik Israyelyan, who trains out of Montreal, knocked out Alex Gagnon, of Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, in the second round. The time of stoppage was 1 minute, 18 seconds.

Israyelyan, 20, landed a right hand on the 28-year-old Gagnon’s head, sending him to the floor and unable to get up. Israyelyan is now 2-0 (2 KOs), while Gangon continues to look for the first win of his career, falling to 0-3-1.

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.