Jose Ramirez decided to dust off his gloves after a year to school Rances Barthelemy in a 12-round welterweight slog-fest. The fight dragged all the way to the bitter end, where Ramirez charmed the judges’ scorecards (119-109, 119-109, 118-110) in a display that was, frankly, less “dazzling” and more like checking if he still remembered how to throw a punch in front of the nearly packed house.
“I felt great coming in, overly excited,” babbled Jose Ramirez. “I showed some good skills,” he continued, generously scoring his own performance as he dodged around the ring. “Overall, I’m just thankful I got the win”—aren’t we all, champ.
Meanwhile, the undefeated knockout sensation Vergil Ortiz Jr. turned Thomas Dulorme into a sobbing heap on the mat with a body shot that could’ve been timed with a stopwatch—2:39 into the first round, if you’re into details. Dulorme’s agony was almost poetic, as Ortiz reminisced about their sparring days. “I knew it was over,” Ortiz bragged. “He made a sound,”—presumably, not a pleasant one.
Over in the tough-guy corner, Oscar Duarte managed to finally stop Joseph Diaz Jr. in the ninth round. Starting strong, Diaz showcased some slick moves, but Duarte’s punches eventually found their mark, ending things at 2:32 with Diaz probably wondering what hit him. Duarte, feeling victorious, was already eyeing a holiday. “I want to rest first,” he admitted. Priorities, right?
The ladies weren’t left out of the drama. Gabriela Alaniz scraped a split decision win against Marlen Esparza in what was billed as a bad-blood rematch for the flyweight titles. The judges couldn’t agree on much, handing out scores like random lottery numbers (93-97, 98-92, 94-96). Alaniz, thrilled to take the belts back to Argentina, threw some shade, saying, “I just know I won’t be giving Marlen the rematch”—because revenge is a dish best served cold, apparently.
Raul Curiel barely broke a sweat defending his NABF Welterweight Title against Jorge Marron Jr., who found himself on the mat twice in the first round, with the referee calling it quits at 1:31. Talk about a quick day at the office.
And in what could only be described as a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Bryan Lua added a win to his streak by flattening Ronaldo Solis twice in the first round of their lightweight scuffle. Solis hit the canvas harder than a sack of potatoes, and that was all she wrote.
To kick things off, Figo Ramirez made short work of Alejandro Robles, who probably regrets getting out of bed that morning. After an overwhelming assault by Ramirez, the ref mercifully ended the fight in the third round, saving Robles from further embarrassment.
