ARLINGTON, Texas – Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos each scored knockdowns in a fierce and grueling fight at AT&T Stadium on Friday. which ended in a draw. And Barrios retains the WBC welterweight strap.
After losing his cool in the first round, Barrios, 29-2-1 (18 KO), opened wide in the second. You can control the distance. And keeping Ramos at a distance following his jab, Ramos, 28-6-3 (22 KO), couldn’t even get to him quickly. And when a straight right hand from Barrios dropped Ramos late in the second. Looks like the man from San Antonio might be in for it. Cozy night
However, Ramos had other ideas. Trying to use his feet to pull himself closer and closer. And when Barrios’ jabs started to falter and became less convincing for some reason. Ramos moved closer and closer. and fell within the reach of Barrios. and land with your right hand
By the fifth inning, Barrios’ jab had noticeably decreased. And he seemed to be leaning towards the strategy of sliding half a step back and encouraging Ramos to go up on the counter. He had won, but things were starting to fall a bit flat.
Then, like that, in the 6th round, Ramos put Barrios down. Back right hand jab, catching Barrios in the jaw. and knock him down And a follow-up right to the temple sent him to the canvas. Ramos spent the rest of the round chasing him down in search of a stopping point. But Barrios survives until the end of the frame.
Still, the fight is now at a closer distance than the taller, longer one Barrios would have liked. And Ramos often scored with right hooks and crosses with Barrios behind him.
In lap 8, Barrios cut himself off and realized he had to fight his way back into the contest. Shooting a straight punch to the center as Ramos responded with a looping punch that he aimed to land behind the Texan’s guard. Ramos is still one to move forward. But now Barrios is blocking and slipping a fair percentage of the attacks headed his way. And in the ninth, he let his hands flow freely again, supporting Ramos with his left to the body. and right go upstairs and followed with another right cross.
Barrios opened the 10th hole with another straight left/right combination. But he stood there admiring his work for a little too long. And Ramos responded with a strong right hand. Ramos continues to attack. But Barrios has a sharper, more versatile punch at this point.
However, Ramos will not be denied. And when the two men emerged on the 11th, their faces both swollen, Barrios bleeding from his nose and mouth, and Ramos with slits in both eyes. After 12, it was hard to tell the two apart. Although it was felt from ringside as if Barrios had done enough to retain the belt. And so he did. Even if it’s just that. Although one judge saw him as the clear winner with a score of 116-110, another gave Ramos a score of 114-112, with a third splitting the difference at 113-113.
Neeraj Goyat went 19-4-2 (8 knockouts) in 4 fights on Netflix, earning a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian powerhouse Windersson Nunes. In a six-round super-middleweight bout, Goyat wasn’t the most talented boxer to ever don the gloves. But at least he’s a professional boxer. And he basically went 2-3-1 (1 knockout) against Nunes, often walking away from him to wave. The crowd, who really seemed to be enjoying the match, had scores of 59-55 and 60-54 twice.
Kieran Mulvaney writes, broadcasts and podcasts about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic and has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic. And the happiest was hanging out with the polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com–
