ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – For three rounds, it was shaping up to be the most competitive fight of Justin Figueroa’s young career. And then it devolved into one of the most unexpected endings a fight could have.
Near the end of the third round, Figueroa and his opponent, Luis Caraballo Ramos, got tangled up on the ropes, just moments after Figueroa seemed to hurt him with a left hook to the body. Figueroa, a former wrestler at nearby Holy Spirit High School, dropped straight back, DDT’ing his opponent into the canvas. Figueroa appeared to hurt his back momentarily, but Ramos took the brunt of the impact. After lifting his head momentarily to complain to the referee, Ramos rolled over in pain, remaining on the floor for several minutes before having his neck immobilized with a collar and being removed from the ring on a stretcher.
The fight was ruled a no decision as the New Jersey Athletic Commission ruled that the foul was accidental.
Ramos, 8-8-1 (8 KOs), reassured the crowd on his way out of the arena, holding up both hands.
Figueroa, 27, of Atlantic City, remained 14-0 (11 KOs).
The fight, scheduled for eight rounds, main-evented a card promoted by Boxing Insider Promotions at Tropicana Casino.
“This is boxing, stuff happens,” explained Larry Goldberg, who was promoting his 20th professional card. “It’s not the ending I wanted. I’m gonna try to make a rematch.”
Goldberg says he will return to the venue for another card in June.
In the co-featured bout, John Leonardo made his first return to a Boxing Insider card in two years, outfighting fellow New Jersey boxer Edgar Joe Cortes. One judge had the fight much closer than could be justified – 77-75 – while the other two had it more in line with the action that transpired at 79-73 and 78-74.
After spirited exchanges in the first three rounds between Leonardo, 13-1-1 (6 KOs), and Cortes, 9-9-1 (1 KO), Leonardo’s nonstop pressure began to tell by the fourth. Leonardo put together combinations with moderately powerful punches that opened up heavier body shots that punctuated the exchanges. Leonardo began taking advantage of his opponent’s diminishing stamina in the sixth, sitting down on harder straight rights and hooks to the body. Leonardo closed the show in entertaining fashion, putting a beating on his opponent for the final three minutes, forcing Cortes to hold to make it to the final bell.
Leonardo, 25, of Manalapan Township, New Jersey, has now won six straight since his lone defeat, a majority decision to the much larger Jostin Ortiz Maysonet in 2022.
Cortez, 31, of Vineland, New Jersey has now lost three straight.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
