Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) defeated Rances Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision in their headliner fight on Saturday night at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.
(Photo credit: Golden Boy / Chris Esqueda)
The former WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez looked shaky through the first half of the fight, getting shaken up three times, and arguably dropped in the third by the former two-division world champion Barthelemy.
Ramirez settled down after the sixth and worked over the 37-year-old Barthelemy on the inside by smothering him. The fight was close to being stopped in the 11th round when Ramirez pummeled the tired Barthelemy with shots.
The scores were 119-109, 119-109, 118-110.
Undercard results:
Unbeaten Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) destroyed veteran Thomas Dulorme (27-7-1, 17 KOs) by a first-round one-punch body shot knockout in the co-feature bout in middleweight action.
Ortiz Jr. landed a hard left to the body that sent the 34-year-old Dulorme down on the canvas where he was then counted out by referee Thomas Taylor. The time of the stoppage was at 2:39 of round one. The victory was Vergil Jr’s second consecutive first-round knockout this year.
“I know it’s over. I heard him make a sound, and I knew it was over,” said Vergil Jr. “We’re ready to fight the top dogs. Hey Tim [Tszyu], I knew your’ watching the fight right now. We’re ready for World Ward III. I just want to fight the best. I don’t do the opponent selection.”
Vergil Jr. will be fighting former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
Light welterweight contender Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) wore down and stopped former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz (33-6-1, 15 KOs) in the ninth round. Duarte trapped the 31-year-old Diaz against the ropes in the ninth round and unloaded with a flurry of heavy shots, resulting in referee Michael Margado stepping in to halt the fight.
Just as he was stopping it, JoJo Diaz’s corner threw in the towel. The time of the stoppage was at 2:32 of round nine.
“The plan was to bring pressure and win every single round,” said Duarte after the fight. “It’s a big difference with Robert Garcia. He’s a great trainer. I want the best. I’m in the position to fight the best for whatever comes.”
“I didn’t think I was hurt. I thought I was winning the last round. In my previous fights, I was getting hit more. I don’t know why the referee stopped the fight. I’ll be back,” said Diaz after the fight. “I’ll keep positive. I’ll be back.”
JoJo Diaz’s record in his last six fights is 1-5 since 2021, and it’s hard to believe how his career has gone downhill in the last three years. It’s clear from watching this fight that Diaz doesn’t belong at 140, and he’s not cut out for 135 either.
Diaz needs to find a way to return to 130, if possible. He’s not powerful enough to fight at lightweight and above. Even 130 might not be a good idea. If Diaz can get back down to 126, his power would improve, but he might be too old to get back down to featherweight without draining himself.
Gabriela Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs) used nonstop pressure and combination punching to defeat Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KOs) by a ten-round split decision to capture the vacant WBA/WBC/WBO flyweight female championship.
The scores were 98-92 for Esparza, 97-93, and 96-94 for the Argentinian Alaniz. Esparza had lost her titles on the scales on Friday when she came in overweight. Alaniz was on fire through the first four rounds, nailing Espaza with machine-gun combinations.
From the fifth round, Esparza jabbed and moved around the ring to avoid the shots from Alaniz. It looked negative by Esparza because she was only throwing jabs, and trying not to get hit. The two judges that scored it for Alaniz obviously were more impressed with the pressure that she was applying, as she was trying to make the fight.
Welterweight prospect Raul Curiel (15-0, 13 KOs) destroyed veteran Jorge Marron Jr. (20-5-2, 7 KOs), stopping him in the first round. The 2016 Olympian Curiel dropped Marron Jr. twice with lefts to the body. Referee Thomas Taylor halted the contest after the second knockdown.
The stoppage occurred at 1:31 of round one. Marron Jr. retreated after the first knockdown, but Curiel quickly caught up to him and nailed him with a second left to the body, putting him down again.
The referee then counted out Marron, who shook his head to let him know that he wasn’t going to be able to get back up. Curiel wants a step up next against possibly Alexis Rocha.