Lebedev defeats Ramirez in 2nd round TKO

lebedev666By 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.

read more

Weights: Lebedev 198.7, Ramirez 198.6

lebedevBy Jim Dower: WBA World cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev (28-2, 21 KOs) weighed in at 198.7 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in for his unification match against IBF cruiserweight champion Victor Emilio Ramirez (22-2-1, 17 KOs) this Saturday night at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia. Ramirez, 32, weighed in at 198.6lbs. The winner of the Lebedev vs. Ramirez fight will need to face IBF mandatory challenger Murat Gassiev this year. The 22-year-old Gassiev won a lot of fans this week with his brutal 1st round knockout win over Jordan Shimmell.

The Lebedev-Ramirez unification fight was originally supposed to be the co-feature bout on the Deontay Wilder vs. Alexander Povetkin fight card. However, with Povetkin testing positive for a banned substance, the fight was postponed by the World Boxing Council.

read more

Victor Ramirez – Ovill McKenzie fight to a draw

By Tim Fletcher: Making his first defense of his title, a very poor performing IBF cruiserweight champion Victor Ramirez (22-2-1, 17 KOs) was given a controversial 12 round draw against the much superior challenger #14 IBF Ovill McKenzie (25-12-1, 13 KOs) on Friday night in the 31-year-old Ramirez’s first defense of his IBF title at the Villa La Ñata Sporting Club, Benavídez, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The draw means Ramirez retains his IBF cruiserweight title.

read more

Roy Jones Jr. wants McKenzie or Maccarinelli

jones5By Scott Gilfoid: #11 WBO cruiserweight contender Roy Jones Jr. (62-8, 45 KOs) is looking to get a title shot in the near future. Jones, 46, is hoping to get a fight against 35-year-old high level journeyman Ovill McKenzie (25-12, 13 KOs) if he defeats IBF cruiserweight champion Victor Ramirez (22-2, 17 KOs) in his gift title shot this Friday, on October 2nd at the Villa La Ñata Sporting Club, Benavídez, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Jones Jr. has won his last eight fights since being stopped in the 10th round by Denis Lebedev in their fight in May 2011 in Moscow, Russia. Jones specifically wants McKenzie for a title shot if he beats Ramirez.

read more

Ovill McKenzie vs. Victor Emilio Ramirez on October 2nd in Buenos Aires

mckenzie5By Scott Gilfoid: After toiling around for the last 12 years as a pro without much success, #14 IBF contender Ovill McKenzie (25-12, 13 KOs) will be getting a gift world title shot against newly crowned IBF cruiserweight champion Victor Ramirez (22-2, 17 KOs) in nine days from now on October 2nd at the Villa La Ñata Sporting Club, Benavídez, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

To say that the 35-year-old McKenzie doesn’t deserve a world title shot is putting it lightly. McKenzie is arguably more of a high level journeyman than an actual contender when you look at things correctly.

read more

Yoan Pablo Hernandez stripped of IBF title, Ramirez now champion

hernandez443By Scott Gilfoid: #8 IBF contender Tony Bellew (25-2-1, 16 KOs) just saw his pathway to a world title shot in December cleared with the news that IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) has been officially stripped of his IBF by the International Boxing Federation title for failing to defend the title for the past 13 months.

Hernandez has had injury problems that has kept him from defending his IBF title. It was reportedly last week that the IBF was making the move to strip the 30-year-old Hernandez of his title, and now it is official, according to fightnews.com.

read more

Tony Bellew to get title shot in December, possibly against Ramirez

bellewBy Scott Gilfoid: #3 WBO, #8 IBF, #10 WBA, #13 WBC Tony Bellew (25-2-1, 16 KOs) appears to be on the verge of fighting for the IBF cruiserweight title in December after the International Boxing Federation has reportedly stripped IBF champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez of his title for failing to defend the title for over a year.

The last time that Hernandez defended his IBF strap was in August of 2014, when he defeated Firat Arslan by a boring 12 round decision. Hernandez rescheduled a fight against Victor Emilio Ramirez for October 2nd, but then recently, Hernandez attempted to reschedule again.

read more

Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Victor Emilio Ramirez on October 2nd in Buenos Aires, Argentina

hernandez3434By Scott Gilfoid: IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) will be defending his title against IBF interim champion and former WBO belt holder Victor Emilio Ramirez (22-2, 17 KOs) on October 2nd in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to news from Dan Rafael. This venue will give the 31-year-old Ramirez the home country advantage, which might help him a bit but not a whole lot.

Ramirez is a pretty primitive fighter in the Marco Huck mold, and he’s very beatable against certain types of fighters. Huck was able to beat Ramirez at his own game in defeating him by a 12 round unanimous decision to take his WBO cruiserweight title in 2009 in a slugfest.

read more

Tony Bellew will fight for a world title in October or November, says Hearn

bellew56By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says his fighter #2 WBO, #8 IBF, #10 WBA cruiserweight contender Tony Bellew (24-2-1, 15 KOs) will be fighting for a world title this year in October or November against the winner of the July 25th fight between IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) and Victor Emilio Ramirez (22-2, 17 KOs).

Hearn specifically wants Bellew to fight Hernandez for his IBF title, even though Bellew has a much higher ranked with the World Boxing Organization at No.2. Hearn didn’t come right out and say it, but obviously he sees Hernandez as the most vulnerable of the four cruiserweight champions.

read more

Huck outclasses Ramirez

huck42315By Jim Dower: In what many boxing fans felt would be a closely contested fight ended up being a mostly one-sided affair on Saturday with German based cruiserweight contender Marco Huck (26-1, 20 KO’s) dominating Argentinean Victor Emilio Ramirez (15-2, 12 KOs) to take away his WBO cruiserweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

read more