Unbeaten Mexican Rafael Espinoza spent ten years in the pro ranks before his first world title shot. And when the opportunity finally came, he made the most of it.
Espinoza (24-0, 20 KOs) captured the WBO featherweight world title with a majority decision win against two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (13-2, 8 KOs) Saturday evening at Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Espinoza, enjoying significant height and reach advantages, kept Ramirez at bay with long-range punches to start the fight. Ramirez took a few rounds to find his distance, and at the end of round five, he landed a right hook that dropped Espinoza.
Ramirez appeared to regain control of the fight, hurting Espinoza again in the following rounds. But by round nine, Espinoza had recovered and began unleashing combinations with as much vigor as he did at the beginning of the fight.
Espinoza, sensing that he needed to close the show emphatically, overwhelmed an exhausted Ramirez and dropped him before the final bell.
One judge scored the fight 113-113, which was overruled by scores of 114-112 and 115-111 for Espinoza.
Espinoza said, “I didn’t think about anything in here. I just thought about winning. I even asked what round we were in. And I knew that I had to drop him in order to win. I just put my heart into it. I always do that. And thank God it happened.
“I think I’ve had a broken foot since the second round. But what kept me on my feet was my daughter, my parents, my wife and my family. I knew that all of Mexico was watching me. And I knew that I had to become a world champion.”
Ramirez said, “We did what we always do. We followed what Ismael Salas told us to do. We scored the knockdown and tried to end the fight, but it didn’t happen.
“I thought the fight was won. But he got his second wind. I tried to catch mine. But I’ve got to give him credit. He came after me. He got the knockdown. I didn’t think it would determine the result, but that’s what the judges decided.”
Xander Zayas KOs Jorge Fortea in 5
Puerto Rican sensation Xander Zayas (18-0, 12 KOs) defeated Spanish veteran Jorge Fortea (24-4-1, 9 KOs) via fifth-round TKO in tonight’s co-feature.
Zayas, who made his third ring appearance of 2023, sought to end the year with a bang, pushing Fortea to the ropes where he landed hard combinations.
The 21-year-old phenom landed a body shot on the inside that forced Fortea to take a knee in the first round. Fortea survived the round, but he spent the rest of the fight trying to avoid Zayas’ two-fisted assault. In the fifth, Zayas landed ended the fight with a body blow.
Zayas, “We knew that he likes to keep his elbows out. And it was just a matter of time after we got him in the first round. After that, he went into survival mode and brought his elbows down. But then we got him with another body shot.”