By Jim Dower: WBA World cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev (29-1, 22 KOs) proved to be too powerful for IBF cruiserweight champion Victor Emilio Ramirez (22-3-1, 17 KOs) in stopping him in the 2nd round on Saturday night in their unification match at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia.
Lebedev, 36, knocked Ramirez down with a flurry of head shots in the 2nd round. After Ramirez got back up, Lebedev unloaded on him with a blizzard of power shots that resulted in referee Steve Smoger stepping in to halt the fight at 1:57 of the round. It appeared that Ramirez had gone down a second time when he reached down with both gloves and touched the canvas to keep from falling. Smoger didn’t count it as a knockdown, but he did stop the fight moments later.