By Jake Donovan (photo by PR Best Boxing)
Former two-time welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron easily turned away the challenge of fringe contender Juliano Ramos, scoring a fifth round stoppage in their main event Saturday evening at Robert Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
The bout aired live on Dish Network pay-per-view.
Action was non-existent in the first couple of rounds. A spattering of boos from the sparse crowd on hand prompted both combatants to pick up the pace. Cintron, 150, tried to assert himself, landing heavy right hands upstairs, while the lone moment of glory for Ramos, also 150, in the early going came in the form of a left hook midway through the second.
Though not exactly a blaze of fire, Cintron picked up the pace in the third, landing right hands to the body and combinations upstairs. After jabbing his way through the middle portion of the round, Cintron went back on the attack late, pinning Ramos on the ropes and rattling off a flurry of body shots.
Ramos’ lack of activity earned the Brazilian a tongue lashing from his head trainer, who demanded he offer more movement and firepower.
He was never given a chance to respond; Cintron came out throwing early in the fourth, stunning Ramos with a series of right hands and left hooks upstairs. Ramos immediately clinched, then spent most of the rest of the round employing an earmuff defense.
When Ramos tried to fight back late in the round, he left himself open for a straight right hand that deposited him to the canvas. Cintron raised his arms as if to suggest the fight was over.
He wasn’t far off; Ramos made it out of the round, only to be subjected to a sea of profanity from his trainer, chastising his charge for not letting his hands go before declaring, “F*ck it; it’s over.”
Referee Roberto Ramirez Jr responded in kind, informing Cintron’s trainer Ronnie Shields that there the other corner was calling it a night.
The official time was 0:01 of the fifth round.
Cintron improves to 32-2-1 (27KO) with the win, which now makes him unbeaten in his last four contests. Ramos suffers his second straight loss as he falls to 15-3 (12KO).
The bout served as Cintron’s first in his native Puerto Rico, though he hopes it to be the start of a beautiful relationship.
“I don’t want this to be my first, last and only trip over here,” said Cintron, who remains undecided both of his next move and at what weight his next fight takes place.
His last two fights have taken place at the super welterweight limit, resulting in a controversial draw with Sergio Martinez and an upset decision win over previously unbeaten Alfredo Angulo.
The win over Angulo provided the necessary damage control in Cintron’s career, as most believed him to be lucky to escape with a draw against Martinez in a fight where he arguably lost twice.
Most of his career prior to that fight earlier this year took place at welterweight, though the win over Angulo and near-win against Martinez has offered the perception that he can be competitive at 154 as well.
Neither Cintron nor promoter Lou DiBella offered any substantive insight as to his next move.
“I can make any of the weights,” insists Cintron. “I fought at 154 the past two times, you saw what I can do there. Now I came back down (close to) welterweight for this fight. I got no problem making weight.”
The only thing made clear by Team Cintron is that his next fight will be “the biggest fight we can get,” according to Lou DiBella. “It’s all about the money.”
Fighting in or around the welterweight division means plenty of lucrative options, including the winner (or even the loser) of the November 14 super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto or recently returned Floyd Mayweather Jr. Also out there is the soon-to return Antonio Margarito, the one man responsible for both losses on Cintron’s record.
Despite all of those lucrative options out there, the only name dropped during the post-fight interview was that of the man who crashed Cintron’s pre-fight party earlier in the week – current super welterweight titlist Daniel Santos.
The unpopular southpaw appears on the Cotto-Pacquiao under card in a title defense against Yuri Foreman, though it’s clear that his intention earlier this week was to plant a seed for a Puerto Rican Civil War sometime next year.
Cintron insisted that he never took Santos’ antics to heart, nor would he shy away from such a fight if it is offered to him.
“I respect Santos. If we can get that fight, let’s make it happen. If not, then we’ll just do without it and move on.”
TELEVISED UNDERCARD
Jonathan Oquendo continues his assault on the fringe level of super bantamweight, scoring his third straight win with a second round stoppage of Mexican journeyman Juan Jose Beltran in the evening’s chief support.
The official time was 1:34 of round two.
Oquendo (17-2, 11KO) scored knockdowns in each of the two rounds, and closed the show with a flurry along the ropes, to which Beltran (19-15-3, 11KO) was unable to defend, prompting the third man to step in when he did.
Asked of his future plans afterward, Oquendo insisted that he was comfortable at the super bantamweight limit and didn’t plan to move up any time soon.
It’s probably the wisest move he can make, considering his one true conqueror and countryman Juan Manuel Lopez, whom stopped him in three rounds last February, has announced his intentions to move up to the featherweight division.
Oddly enough, Lopez is now working with Oquendo, as the two were friends before their fight last year, and obviously remain close.
Jose Gonzalez remains unbeaten after disposing of countryman Javier Garcia in the second round of their scheduled eight round lightweight swing bout.
It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing fight, but Gonzalez (8-0, 5KO) was effective in what he had to do. Garcia (6-3-1-1 NC (2KO), trained by Evangelista Cotto, seemed to have no answers for Gonzalez’ unorthodox aggression, as evidenced by a volley of head shots that had Garcia’s head snapping back late in the second.
Referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. acted accordingly, stepping in to save Garcia from further punishment. The official time was 2:49 of the second round.
A minor upset occurred in preliminary action, as Erickson “Kiki” Martell (3-1-1, 2KO) scored a well-deserved unanimous decision over Christian Lopez (3-1-2, 3KO) in a rematch of Puerto Rican junior flyweights.
Scores were 57-56, 58-56 and 58-55.
The pair previously fought to a four-round draw in a September 2007 fight that served as the pro debut for both fighters. This fight marked the second rematch for Martell in a career that is merely five fights deep.
Return affairs seem to be his thing; he’s now 2-0 against familiar faces through just five fights as a pro.
Enabling the diminutive Boricua to victory was a second round knockdown, when Lopez overcommitted on his attack, leaving his chin exposed long enough to get clipped by a counter right hook late in the round.
Martell remained the aggressor throughout the remainder of a competitive six-round bout, closing the show strong to ensure victory.
Undefeated featherweight prospect Luis del Valle opened the show with a third round stoppage of Christopher Rivera.
del Valle (7-0, 5KO), born in Bayamon, PR but now living in Newburgh, New York, was predictably in control for the duration of the brief affair. He opened things up in the third, landing several right hands upstairs, before suddenly exploding with a left hook to the body that dropped Rivera (3-3, 3KO) for the 10-count, ending the fight at 2:01 of round three.
The show was presented by Puerto Rico Best Boxing and DiBella Entertainment.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .