Shane Mosley Jr. continues to make strides to carve out his own name in the sport.
The second-generation boxer turned away a determined challenge from Colorado-based Boricua journeyman Jeremy ‘The Boxing Barber’ Ramos to claim an eight-round unanimous decision in their middleweight bout.
Judge Edward Hernandez Sr. scored the bout 79-73, while Dr. Lou Moret and Pat Russell each scored the contest 80-72 in favor of Mosley in their DAZN-streamed affair Friday evening at a crowdless Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Mosley put his height and reach advantage to proper use in the opening round. The fighting son of Hall of Fame former three-division champion Shane Mosley Sr. was consistent with his jab, following with left hooks the body. Ramos—a full-time barber back home in Colorado (hence the ‘Boxing Barber’ ring moniker)—spent most of round one trying to size up his bigger foe.
Ramos had his say on several occasions in round two. Mosley grew confident to the point of leaving himself open for counters. A left hook downstairs landed on the fleshy midsection of Ramos, who brushed off the shot and immediately came back with power shots upstairs.
Two-way action made for an entertaining round three. Ramos continued to come forward, not always landing but doing enough to disrupt Mosley’s offense. It failed to carry over into round four, which saw Mosley reestablish his jab as Ramos spent most of the frame attempting to dodge the incoming. Mosley took his attack downstairs before coming back up top to repeatedly score with jabs from long range.
After catching an earful from head trainer Justin Gamber—best known for bringing along Caleb Plant from the cradle to the super middleweight title—Mosley intensified his attack in round five. The 29-year old from Pomona, California continued to work the body, sticking his jab in Ramos’ face whenever he threatened to come inside and also connecting with straight right hands.
Ramos seemed worse for the wear by the end of the round, prompting a demand from Mosley’s corner to step on the gas and close the show. His execution in round six suggested he wasn’t quite game for the cause. Ramos took the best of what Mosley had to offer, riding out a mid-round storm to connect with a left hook, Mosley allowed Ramos to smother his punches, limiting his ability to let his right hand rip.
Mosley adjusted in round seven, responding with every burst from Ramos with combination punching. A three-punch combination caught Ramos’ attention midway through the round, with Mosley returning to basics over the last half of the frame.
Ramos sensed a knockout was needed to prevail in the eighth and final round. He fought accordingly, wading through a left-right combination to catch Mosley with a left hook. Mosley was content to box his way to the finish, hooking off the jab when space permitted and otherwise fighting from the outside to avoid getting caught with a wild shot.
Mosley picks up his third straight win, improving to 16-3 (9KOs). Ramos has now lost three in a row, falling to 11-9 (8KOs).
The bout served as the chief support to the evening’s headlining act between unbeaten welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (15-0, 15KOs) and Canada’s Samuel Vargas (31-5-2, 14KOs).
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
