by Francisco Salazar

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jose Ramirez was not going to go back to Avenal, California empty-handed.

In a unification fight that lived up to expectations, Ramirez stopped Maurice Hooker in round six before a raucous near-sellout crowd Saturday night.

With the win, Ramirez (25-0, 17 knockouts) is now the WBC and WBO world titleholders.

The Hooker-Ramirez clash was an intriguing and even fight. Hooker was fighting near his hometown of Dallas, but the crowd at the College Park Center was almost even with Hooker and Ramirez supporters.

Midway through the opening round, Ramirez scored a knockdown of Hooker. Replays showed Ramirez inadvertently stepping on the foot of Hooker while he landed a jab, causing Hooker to fall backwards. Hooker vehemently protested to referee Mark Nelson to no avail.

Hooker did well in the opening moments of the second round, but Ramirez closed the distance, walking Ramirez down against the ropes and connecting with several punches to the body of Hooker.

Both fighters had their moments during the third and fourth rounds, but both fighters had their moments during the fifth round. Ramirez attacked the body, but Hooker was able to capitalize with left hooks to the head. The back-and-forth action between the two fighters brought most of the almost sell-out crowd at the College Park Center to their feet.

Hooker did well when he was fighting at distance, and was doing well during the sixth round, but the rally was short-lived.

Midway through the round, Ramirez threw and landed a left hand to the chin. Ramirez followed up with another left hand to the head that sent Hooker reeling against the ropes. Ramirez followed up by landing several punches to a defenseless Hooker that prompted referee Mark Nelson to step in and stop the bout at 1:48.

At the time of the stoppage, Ramirez was up on two judges scorecards, 49-45 and 48-46. A third judge had the fight even, 47-47.

As dominant as Ramirez looked up to the knockdown, Hooker did connect with several punches. According to stats, Hooker landed 129 of 360 total punches, while Ramirez threw 414 total punches, landing 99 of them.

Ramirez will not wait for the winner of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) final, which is scheduled to take place later this year. Regis Prograis owns the WBA world title, while Taylor is the IBF titleholder.

"Sure, I would want that to be my next fight," said Ramirez, who is trained by Robert Garcia.

Hooker (26-1-3, 17 KOs) was diplomatic in defeat.

"I lost my focus for a split-second. You can't do that against a world-class fighter like Ramirez."

Hooker, who reportedly was having trouble making weight, is not sure about his future and whether to remain as a junior welterweight or move up to 147 pounds.

"I'll have to sit down and discuss that with my team," said Hooker.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing