In the main event, former WBC and WBO junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez was successful in his first fight under the GBP banner in winning a unanimous decision over former IBF junior lightweight and lightweight Rances Barthelemy.
The road wasn't all smooth for Ramirez, who appeared to be knocked down in the third round but referee Jack Reiss called it a shove (it looked like a knockdown to me) and after hitting the floor, Barthelemy landed several punches to the downed Ramirez.
In fairness, it should have been called a knockdown and then deducted a point from Barthelemy for hitting Ramirez while down but if neither were called, I'm okay with the round as a one-point round.
Barthelemy hurt Ramirez again late in the fourth round but was unable to follow up
Ramirez would take command and he would slow down Barthelemy down severely over the second half of the fight.
The judges gave Ramirez the edge on the scorecards with scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110.
I had Ramirez as the winner 117-111 however Ramirez may have lost a step and while I would still think he's of world title contention status, I think he may have become a cut below the level of the division champions, Teofmo Lopez, Devin Haney, Isaac Cruz, and Subriel Matias.
The co-feature looked like a mismatch entering the fight and Vergil Ortiz ended it quickly as Ortiz ripped one body shot that downed Thomas Dulorme for the count in the first round in their junior middleweight ten-rounder.
The best thing to say about this one is that Ortiz sustained no damage that might delay his anticipated fight with Tim Tsyzu in August.
Dulorme, a one-time world title challenger, lost his fifth in his last seven outings and might be suited to think about ending his ring career.
The first fight saw Oscar Duarte rebound from his loss to Ryan Garcia to stop former junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz in the ninth round.
Diaz landed his share of punches in the first few rounds but the stronger Duarte pounded Diaz from the fifth round forward and the referee made the right decision in stopping the fight with Diaz taking blows along the ropes.
I had Duarte slightly ahead after eight rounds at 78-76 but Diaz hadn't won a round since the fourth and it made little sense to continue the fight.
For Duarte, it's a feather in his cap as he was the first man to stop Diaz and it should help him receive more fights while for Diaz, who tried his best, it's time for him, like Thomas Dulorme, to consider ending a solid career.
Boxing Challenge
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