By Vince Dwriter: On the undercard of the Prograis-Zorrilla event at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Julissa Alejandra Guzman knocked out Ramla Ali (8-1, 2 KOs) in the eighth round and won the 122-pound IBF Inter-Continental title, and the WBA Continental Americas belt.
Ramla Ali entered the bout as the notable fighter due to the fact that she’s a model, a humanitarian, and inside the squared circle, she was an undefeated fighter who won the first women’s boxing match in Saudi Arabia.
Julissa Guzman came into the bout as a tough fighter who was given the underdog label for this particular fight. Prior to the bout, Julissa Guzman most notable accomplishment was challenging Yamileth Mercado for the WBC 122-pound title back in February 2021.
Unfortunately for Guzman, she lost to the defending champion Yamileth Mercado by way of unanimous decision. She would bounce back by winning her next fight by TKO, and on the night of June 17th she was determined to the step in the ring and score an upset.
Guzman got off to an encouraging start in the opening round as she was able to connect with a couple of clean right hands. Guzman continued to hit the target in the third round as she landed a hard overhand right.
In the fifth round Ramla Ali seemed to be in control of the round, but in the final seconds of the round, Ali experienced something for the first time in her professional boxing career. With the time clock winding down, Guzman landed a right hand that sent Ali down to the canvas.
Ali was able to get up as the bell rang to end the round, but disaster would strike three rounds later.
In the eighth round of the bout, Guzman blasted Ali with a devastating left hook that sent Ali back down to the canvas.
Ramla Ali looked up, but she wasn’t physically able to get up, as she was counted out and Guzman scored the upset victory. With the win Julissa Alejandra Guzman, a native of Ciudad Obregon Sonora, Mexico, improved to (13-2-2, 7 KOs) and she picked up a couple of title belts.