Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) and Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) were victorious in their respective fights on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, on the Golden Boy-promoted card.
Light welterweight contender Ramirez pounded his way to a one-sided but competitive 12-round unanimous decision win over Rances Barthelemy (30-3, 15 KOs) in the headliner. The scores were 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109.
There was some drama early with Ramirez getting hurt in rounds 3, 4, and 6 from straight lefts from Barthelemy. Luckily for Ramirez, the 37-year-old Barthelemy gassed out after six rounds, and had nothing to offer until the twelfth, when he shook the former WBC/WBO 140-lb champion once again.
After the fight, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya said he wanted Ramirez to fight for a world title at light welterweight. He didn’t say who he’d like to see Ramirez fight, but the options aren’t few. There’s IBF champion Subriel Matias or WBA champ Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
Ramirez is not going to get a fight against WBO belt-holder Teofimo Lopez because he’s with Top Rank, and they’re not going to say yes to a fight involving their former fighter.
Vergil Ortiz destroys Thomas Dulorme
In the chief support bout, junior middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) obliterated journeyman Thomas Dulorme (26-7-1, 17 KOs) by a first-round body shot knockout. Ortiz dropped the 34-year-old Dulorme with a left to the body. The fight was halted after Dulorme couldn’t beat the count.
The stoppage occurred at 2:39 of round one. This match was meant to be a showcase, and that’s exactly what it was. It wasn’t competitive, but it was the ideal fight to prepare the 26-year-old Ortiz Jr. for a fight against Tim Tszyu on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
Oscar Duarte Stops Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz
Light welterweight Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) beat up former super featherweight world champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (33-6-1, 15 KOs), stopping him in the ninth round of a scheduled ten-round fight.
The referee stepped in and waved it off after Diaz was caught against the ropes and shelled by the 28-year-old Duarte.
The time of the stoppage was at 2:32 of the round. The loss for Diaz, 31, was his fifth in his last six fights, and his first knockout defeat of his career. Diaz said he’ll continue on. He doesn’t belong fighting at 140, and he needs to move back down to super featherweight.
Duarte had been knocked out in the eighth round by Ryan Garcia in his previous fight, but he did well tonight because JoJo Diaz didn’t have much power. However, on a couple of occasions, Duarte looked stunned by Diaz’s shots, which suggests his ceiling at light welterweight isn’t high.
