By Larry Tornambe, at ringside
Philadelphia, Pa.- Golden Boy Promotions brought home Demetrius Hopkins for only the 3rd fight in his six year pro career in a card co-promoted by Peltz Boxing and Joe Hand Promotions. The Philly native fought Mario Ramos for the vacant USBA Jr. Welterweight strap on Friday night in front of a jammed packed New Alhambra in South Philadelphia.
Hopkins (23-0-1; 9KO’s) welcomed Phoenix’s Ramos (16-2-1; 3KO’s) to Philadelphia for a bout that appeared headed for the 12 round distance since the contract signing. Ramos battled more like a southpaw street fighter while Demetrius was careful in his approach. The bout did little to excite the capacity crowd but Hopkins was able to thud a few straight rights to Ramos’ noggin as the fight neared an end. Other than a point deduction from Hopkins for low blows in the 7th stanza, Demetrius won nearly every minute of the main event bout broadcast on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. The bout went the distance, leading to all three judges agreeing with scores of 119-108 for the still undefeated and new USBA Jr. Welterweight champ, Demetrius Hopkins (nephew of Bernard).
The co-feature offered more intrigue, better boxing and a few exchanges over 12 rounds of welterweight action between Larry Mosely and Miguel Figueroa. I figured Mosely would have an edge in the bout because of more consistent progress in the pro ranks after a standout amateur career. Figueroa is trying to remain on a steady bout schedule and is coming off a thrilling 10-round December bout that could be Philadelphia’s fight of 2005 or at least its runner up.
Mosely started quicker than Figueroa with jabs and movement. Figueroa started getting through Mosely’s jab near the end of the 3rd round and started fighting effectively on the inside, especially with double left hooks. Mosely gave away a few middle rounds, strangely it may have worked because he looked fresher in the homestretch. The 7th round was Figueroa’s best as he was able to get inside, force Mosely to the ropes and let his punches score. Oddly, the 8th round was Mosely’s as he flurried and knocked out Miguel’s mouthpiece. Mosely pulled Figueroa into a trap from the 8th to the 11th round; he’d stand in front of Miguel and pull away from any attack just enough to put himself into position to counter. The last couple of rounds Mosely kept his distance and earned the displeasure of the crowd. The 12th round turned into a very difficult round to score and was pivotal to the outcome.
This reporter’s card had Mosely up by one point after the 11th. The 12th round unfolded with Figueroa being the aggressor, but was not effective. Mosely only jabbed, moved away and slipped and ducked when attacked. One must consider Mosely for the defense, consequently while Figueroa attacked he missed more than he landed. Because Mosely did not counter the missed punches his defense forced, it was hard to score the round for him, but it was difficult to score the round in favor of Figueroa because of the missed punches. I called it even and Mosely won on my card 115-114. The official count for the NABO belt came to 116-112 for Mosely from judge Robert Grass and 114-114 from Joe Pasquale and Julie Lederman. The draw puts a second blemish on Mosely’s record: 15-1-1 and Figueroa is now 24-5-2.
Undercard action saw Rock Allen (6-0; 5KOs) squeak out a majority decision over Arturo Brambila (8-6) over 6 rounds in the Jr. Welterweight contest.
Heavyweights: Chazz Witherspoon (10-0) TKO at 2:55 of the 2nd over Rodney Ray (4-4),
Welterweights: Mike Jones TKO 2:30 of the 2nd over Chris Gray,
Jr. Middleweights: Kaseem Wilson (2-0) TKO :49 of the 1st of Gary Drayton,
Light Heavyweights: Charles Cavallo (8-0) TKO 2nd Jason Medina.
Philadelphia stays busy with a Power Productions card on the 17th (215 892-5411), the Blue Horizon Boxing Promotions on April 7th (215 763-0500), NIT Management/Peltz Boxing in Trenton, NJ on May 6th (609-209-5642) and Peltz/Hand Promotions on June 16th (215 765-0922)
PHILADELPHIA -- Demetrius Hopkins unanimously outpointed Marios Jose Ramos to capture the U.S. Boxing Association junior welterweight title Friday night.
Hopkins (23-0-1), of Philadelphia, took control of the fight in the third round. He hit Ramos (16-2-1), of Phoenix, with a flurry of powerful right hands throughout the fight, although none sent him to the canvas.
"I felt I could've taken him out a couple of times, but he had a hard head," said Hopkins, the nephew of former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. "Once I got in a groove, I was throwing the right hand like a jab."
In the other featured bout, Miguel Figueroa (24-5-2), of Camden, N.J., and Larry Mosley (15-1-1), of Los Angeles, fought to a draw in a bout for the vacant North American Boxing Organization welterweight title.
Figueroa was the aggressor throughout the fight, despite badly injuring his right hand on an uppercut punch in the third round.
"I was only able to throw lefts. I couldn't even use my right hand," Figueroa said, his bruised hand soaking in ice. "I was more effective when we were boxing inside but I couldn't do a lot with my right hand."
Mosley's strategy was to counterattack and land shots to Figueroa's body. He landed some of the biggest blows of the fight, including a right hook in the eighth round of the twelve-round fight that appeared to stagger Figueroa.
"I'm disappointed because I thought I did enough to pull it out, but it's hard coming into his territory and getting a decision," Mosley said.
In other bouts, Chazz Witherspoon (10-6, 7 KOs), of Philadelphia, stopped Rodney Ray (4-4), of New York, in the second round of their heavyweight bout; Kaseem Wilson (2-0, 1 KO), of Philadelphia, stopped Gary Drayton (4-13-1), of Philadelphia, in the first round in a welterweight bout; Charles Cavallo (8-0, 2 KO), of Trenton, N.J., stopped Jason Medina (1-6), of Moline, Ill., in the second round of their welterweight bout; Mike Jones (2-0, 2 KO), of Philadelphia, stopped Cris Gray (1-2), of Vero Beach, Fla., in the second round of their welterweight bout; and Rock Allen (6-0), of Philadelphia, outpointed Arthur Brambilla (8-6), of Phoenix, in a junior welterweight bout.
