Rafael Espinoza Defeats Robeisy Ramírez Once More in Bizarre Circumstances

Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) retained his featherweight title in his rematch against Robeisy Ramírez (14-3, 9 KOs) under bizarre circumstances.

Officially, Espinoza won via technical knockout. The official time of stoppage was 0:12 of the sixth round after Ramírez indicated that he had had enough upon getting hit with a straight right hand. With the victory, Espinoza retains the WBO featherweight title that he won in December last year in his first meeting with Ramírez.

The fight took place on the undercard of Emanuel Navarrete vs. Óscar Valdez 2 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ. Boxing fans in the United States could catch the action live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Those in the United Kingdom and Ireland could do so with Sky Sports. TSN was broadcasting the event in Canada.

Rafael Espinoza Defeats Robeisy Ramírez Once More in Bizarre Circumstances

Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramírez Fight Recap

The opening round saw Ramírez circle around his opponent and consistently go to the body. Espinoza moved with the Cuban, but was struggling to land. Cleaner punches started to land from both as the fight progressed, but it was Ramírez doing the more eye-catching work.

As the bout got into the middle rounds, Espinoza did better to close the distance. He was landing hard shots of his own, but Ramírez was still moving well and landing counters. However, this was all to change in the early seconds of round six.

After getting hit with a straight right hand on his eye, Ramírez turned away and indicated that he was done. As a result, the fight came to an end and Espinoza was declared winner via technical knockout. Ramírez claimed in the post-fight interview that he got elbowed in the face in round four and was seeing double. He further claimed that he chose to continue for a period until withdrawing to protect himself.

A wild ending to #EspinozaRamirez2 😳 pic.twitter.com/Pm23Yyn7QL

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 8, 2024

Post-fight Interview

Rafael Espinoza

“Look, I landed a clean shot,” said Espinoza through an interpreter. “That right hand and he felt that power. I think that he was feeling the power, starting to feel my pressure coming on and I think the fight was turning in terms of the tide wascoming in my favour. He was feeling my power and I think he knew what was coming next.”

“I’ve said it before. I want to be a legend and that’s why I’m willing to face anybody. The fans want to see me. They’re out here seeing me and I’m going to be a fan favourite.”

Robeisy Ramírez

“Look, what ended up happening is in the fourth round he hit me with a couple of elbows in the follow through,” said Ramírez through an interpreter. “I complained to the referee about it. He did his job supposedly and this happened.”

“Look, I had to make a decision for my own health if I’m not being protected. Look, I had double vision and I had to make sure that I leave this ring with my health. You see that I’m ok fortunately, but, I just could not see out of my right eye.”

Undercard Results

Lindolfo Delgado (22-0, 16 KOs) won via fifth-round technical knockout against Jackson Maríñez (22-4, 10 KOs). The time of stoppage for this 10-round super lightweight bout was 2:14. In the fifth, Maríñez went down from a left jab and right uppercut combination to the head. Shortly after, a right uppercut to the body had him down once more and the fight was put to an end.

Richard Torrez Jr. (12-0, 11 KOs) won via third-round technical knockout against Isaac Munoz (18-2-1, 15 KOs). The time of stoppage for this eight-round heavyweight contest was 0:59. The fight was stopped with Munoz still standing as he got repeatedly hit without responding.

Albert Gonzalez (12-0, 7 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Gerardo Perez (12-7-1, 3 KOs). Scores for the eight-round featherweight fight were 80-72 (x2) and 79-73.

Steven Navarro (5-0, 4 KOs) won via second-round technical knockout against Gabriel Bernardi (7-2, 3 KOs). The time of stoppage for this six-round super flyweight bout was 2:29. Bernardi went down three times in round two. First, it was from a right hand to the head. A barrage from Navarro had his opponent down a second time. After getting hit with a right uppercut and a left hand, Bernardi went down for a third time before the fight was put to an end.

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Giovani Santillan (33-1, 18 KOs) won via first-round technical knockout against Fredrick Lawson (30-6, 22 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this 10-round welterweight contest was 3:00. Lawson did not come out for round two after taking heavy punishment in the first.

Art Barrera Jr. (7-0, 5 KOs) won via second-round technical knockout against Juan Medina (4-2, 3 KOs). The time of stoppage for this six-round welterweight clash was 2:58. This bout came to an end following a barrage of punches from Barrera with Medina still standing.

Kevin Mosquera (3-0, 1 KO) won a majority decision against Cesar Morales (0-1, 0 KOs). While one judge saw the four-round lightweight fight 38-38, the other two had it 39-36 and 38-37. Morales went down from a straight right hand in round four.

Opening the broadcast, Demler (DJ) Zamora (15-0, 10 KOs) won via second-round technical knockout against Roman Reynoso (22-6-2, 10 KOs). The time of stoppage for this eight-round super featherweight bout was 1:56. Reynoso went down from a body shot in the first. In round two, he went down again from a left hook, after which the bout was terminated.