By Jake Donovan
Fidel Maldonado Jr. scored a minor upset, dropping Luis Ramos Jr. three times en route to a stoppage in the 7th round of their FoxSports 1-televised main event Monday evening in San Antonio, Texas.
It was never meant to be for Ramos Jr., who was cut over the left eye in the opening round of what was supposed to be a bounce-back fight. Maldonado Jr. was never intended as a soft touch by any stretch, but the expectation for Ramos Jr. was to control the action and find his way back into the win column after suffering his first pro loss in his most recent fight.
As the blood streamed down Ramos Jr.'s face, Maldonado Jr. continually gained confidence. The Albuquerque native didn't quite match his high-octane output in the opening round where he threw more than 90 punches, but was still steadily outworking the visiting Californian.
Things went from bad to worse for Ramos Jr., who was docked a point in round three after ramming his shoulder into his foe, lifting him off of his feet and driving him into the corner. The sequence served as a wake-up call, as the fight became more competitive from that point through the end of the fifth.
Maldonado Jr. was intent on making a statement, however. Any momentum gained by Ramos Jr. was immediately squashed in round six, which functionally served as the beginning of the end. Two knockdowns came over the back half of the round, the second of which saw Ramos Jr. barely beat the count but hardly resembling a fighter who had anything left.
This much was confirmed mere seconds into round seven, when Maldonado Jr. applied the finishing touch. One left hook too many forced Ramos Jr. to a knee. While seemingly clear-headed, it was apparent that he could no longer put up a competitive effort, prompting referee Mark Calo-Oy to end the contest without offering a count.
The official time was of 0:17 of round seven.
Maldonado Jr. picks up arguably the most significant win of his career as he improves to 17-2 (14KO). The win was his fourth straight following back-to-back losses in 2012.
Ramos Jr. is at a dangerous point in his career. The once highly-touted lightweight prospect has now suffered back-to-back stoppage losses as he falls to 23-2 (10KO). Monday's affair was his first in 11 months, where he suffered a shocking 5th round knockout loss at the hands of badly faded and chronically underachieving Ricardo Williams Jr.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox