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The following are Dan Rafael's remarks about the Ramos-Rigondeaux fight, as posted on ESPN.com:
Ramos, 24, of Pico Rivera, Calif., claimed a world title in July when he scored a huge knockout of Japan's Akifumi Shimoda in the seventh round to rally from a hopeless-looking deficit on all three scorecards. He had been easily outboxed, but never gave up and found the power. Rigondeaux, 31, was a whole different kettle of fish; Ramos found that out in his first defense, when they met in a long-delayed mandatory bout on a special edition of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation." Rigondeaux, who lives in Miami, was a two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist and is widely considered one of the greatest amateur boxers ever. He was the clear favorite and did a number on Ramos to join a select group of fighters to win a major world title inside 10 pro fights.
Rigondeaux can do basically whatever he wants, whenever he wants inside the ring. He is so poised, fast and effective in every area of boxing that it is scary. He doesn't always make for exciting fights, one of the knocks on him, because he just does not need to get into a battle. It's sort of the same thing with Floyd Mayweather. Rigondeaux, however, did create some excitement in the first round when he dropped Ramos with a left hand without about 40 seconds left. Ramos was clearly hurt and Rigondeaux nailed him with several additional left hands before the round ended.
While Rigondeaux was in total control, Ramos went into a shell and would not throw many punches. Rigondeaux was not throwing a lot of leather either, but it was a ton compared to Ramos' output. The restless crowd let them know they weren't pleased and began booing. In the sixth round, however, Rigondeaux put Ramos and the viewers out of their misery when he landed five consecutive left hands to force Ramos into a corner. Then a digging left to the body knocked him to the canvas, where referee Joe Cortez counted him out at 1 minute, 29 seconds. It was a horrible performance from Ramos, who was never in the fight for a minute. For Rigondeaux, it was the culmination of what many believed would happen when he finally escaped Cuba and arrived on U.S. shores -- that he would win a world title. The question now is who will promoter Top Rank match him with because, love his style or hate it, Rigondeaux is going to be dangerous against anyone from bantamweight to featherweight. Top Rank, of course, could try to match him with the winner of the Feb. 4 vacant junior featherweight title bout between Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez, among other notable fighters it promotes in those weight classes.
Ramos, 24, of Pico Rivera, Calif., claimed a world title in July when he scored a huge knockout of Japan's Akifumi Shimoda in the seventh round to rally from a hopeless-looking deficit on all three scorecards. He had been easily outboxed, but never gave up and found the power. Rigondeaux, 31, was a whole different kettle of fish; Ramos found that out in his first defense, when they met in a long-delayed mandatory bout on a special edition of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation." Rigondeaux, who lives in Miami, was a two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist and is widely considered one of the greatest amateur boxers ever. He was the clear favorite and did a number on Ramos to join a select group of fighters to win a major world title inside 10 pro fights.
Rigondeaux can do basically whatever he wants, whenever he wants inside the ring. He is so poised, fast and effective in every area of boxing that it is scary. He doesn't always make for exciting fights, one of the knocks on him, because he just does not need to get into a battle. It's sort of the same thing with Floyd Mayweather. Rigondeaux, however, did create some excitement in the first round when he dropped Ramos with a left hand without about 40 seconds left. Ramos was clearly hurt and Rigondeaux nailed him with several additional left hands before the round ended.
While Rigondeaux was in total control, Ramos went into a shell and would not throw many punches. Rigondeaux was not throwing a lot of leather either, but it was a ton compared to Ramos' output. The restless crowd let them know they weren't pleased and began booing. In the sixth round, however, Rigondeaux put Ramos and the viewers out of their misery when he landed five consecutive left hands to force Ramos into a corner. Then a digging left to the body knocked him to the canvas, where referee Joe Cortez counted him out at 1 minute, 29 seconds. It was a horrible performance from Ramos, who was never in the fight for a minute. For Rigondeaux, it was the culmination of what many believed would happen when he finally escaped Cuba and arrived on U.S. shores -- that he would win a world title. The question now is who will promoter Top Rank match him with because, love his style or hate it, Rigondeaux is going to be dangerous against anyone from bantamweight to featherweight. Top Rank, of course, could try to match him with the winner of the Feb. 4 vacant junior featherweight title bout between Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez, among other notable fighters it promotes in those weight classes.
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