KRISTIANSTAD, Sweden: Two-time WBA super flyweight challenger Linn Sandstrom, 12-4-3 (2 KOs) dropped down to flyweight and won the WBA Gold title with a very dubious decision over Mexican veteran Maribel “Pantera” Ramirez, 15-13-4 (3 KOs) in the headliner of Armand Boxing Promotion's show at the Arena.
The judges had it 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 after 10 rounds of boxing where Sandstrom was so defensive that she was downright passive while Ramirez patiently stalked her opponent and while not very effective, she still seemed to win rounds by outworking Sandstrom. The judges, however, rewarded the Australian-based Swede for her too few counter punches and boxing got another black mark through this decision. Ramirez was in tears when she left the ring and one can blame her.
On the undercard, tough Danish heavyweight Thorbjorn Boudigaard, 8-2 (6 KOs), crushed local hero, 43-year old Joel Larsson, 4-1-1 (2 KOs) and won on a stoppage in the third round with the Swede defenceless and bleeding heavily from the nose.
Ajet Jusufi, 3-0, stopped John Jeppsson Rudell, 0-2, in the third round of an all-Swedish matchup made at super middle. Jusufi, a southpaw, was too strong for Rudell and broke through for real in the third round and it was stopped at 2.29.
Cruiserweight John Salomonsson, 5-0, struggled against the wild swinging Czech Bernard Plavec, 1-3, but won on points with scores of 39-37 on all cards.
