Mizuki Hiruta Dominates Maribel Ramírez in WBO Title Defence

Mizuki Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs) retained her world title with a technical decision win over Maribel Ramírez (15-11-4, 3 KOs).

Scores at the time of stoppage in round eight were 80-71 (x2) and 79-72. With the victory, Hiruta remains the WBO super flyweight world champion. She won the title in December 2022 with a win over Kanako Taniyama. This was Hiruta’s third defence of the WBO title.

The fight was on a 360 Promotions card at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA. Boxing fans globally could catch the action live on UFC Fight Pass.

Mizuki Hiruta vs. Maribel Ramírez Ends in Technical Decision

Mizuki Hiruta vs. Maribel Ramírez Fight Recap

From the opening bell, it was evident that Hiruta had the quicker hands. She had little trouble in landing her shots. Ramírez fell to the canvas twice in round one, but both occasions were deemed to be slips.

Nasty combination🤮 #HFNBoxing pic.twitter.com/4WniTgBZFp

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In the second, a right hook to the side of the head from Hiruta sent her opponent down as she was coming forward.Ramírez got up and fought on, but at no point in the fight was she ever cause for concern for the reigning champion. Late in round four, the Mexican was cut over her left eye by a punch. For the remainder of the contest, blood would pour from that cut.

A determined Ramírez continued to fight on but was unable to do anything that would give her the upper hand. In round eight, an accidental clash of heads caused the bout to be stopped. A ringside physician examined the cut on Ramírez and advised the referee to end proceedings, causing the fight to go to the scorecards and giving Hiruta the win via technical decision.

Post-fight Interview

Mizuki Hiruta

“I could have done much better,” said Hiruta through an interpreter. “But I’m very happy to be here finally. [Switches to English] I’m so happy. [Switches to Spanish] ¡Viva!”

Read More: Title Fights From Around the World Including Split Decision at Korakuen Hall

“I wanted to do more things than [what] Manny [Robles] told me, but maybe next time I will do that,” she continued in Japanese through an interpreter.

“What Manny wanted me to do is for the first three rounds, I control the fight then go [on] to overwhelm [Ramírez]. But this time, I was a little bit off on that.”

Undercard Results

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs). Scores for the 10-round featherweight clash were 100-90 (x2) and 99-91. (Note: This was the main event of the night. Since the Hiruta-Ramírez clash was prioritized for this recap, the result of this fight has been placed here).

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) won via second-round technical knockout against Malcolm Jones (17-5-1, 10 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this 10-round super middleweight contest was 1:17. Jones was getting hit with a barrage of punches and not throwing anything in return, causing the referee to end things with him still standing.

Iyana Verduzco (3-0, 1 KO) won via third-round technical knockout against Lindsey Ellis (2-2, 2 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this six-round super featherweight fight was 1:34. Ellis was stopped standing after the referee deemed her to have taken too much punishment.

Adan Palma (11-0, 6 KOs) won a split decision over Sharone Carter (14-9-1, 3 KOs) in a six-round super bantamweight bout. While one judge saw Carter winning 58-56, the other two had it 59-55 and 58-56 for Palma.

Opening the broadcast on UFC Fight Pass, Gloria Munguilla (7-1, 0 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Brook Sibrian (5-2, 2 KOs). Scores for the eight-round light flyweight clash were 79-73 and 77-75 (x2). An entertaining clash from start to finish.

Preliminary Bouts on YouTube

The fights below were broadcast live on the UFC Fight Pass YouTube channel. Click here or the play button below to watch.

Kevin Anton (9-0, 8 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Cameron Krael (21-34-3, 7 KOs) in a six-round super welterweight fight. Scores were 60-54 across the board.

Alexander Gueche (7-0, 5 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Lito Dante (21-14-4, 12 KOs) in a six-round super flyweight contest. Scores were 60-52 across the board. Dante went down in round one from a left hook to the body and again in the fifth from hooks to the head. Although the referee ruled both instances as knockdowns, it was clear that Dantewas being pushed down by Gueche.

Opening the broadcast, Tayden Beltran (10-0-1, 5 KOs) won via third-round technical knockout against Eugene Lagos (16-9-3, 11 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this six-round lightweight bout was 3:00. Lagos withdrew from the contest following the conclusion of round three, citing a shoulder injury.