Jose Ramirez and Viktor Postol in Tight Fight, Ramirez Snags MD in Vegas

Twice during his post-fight chat, Jose Ramirez referred to personal stuff going on coming into his fight with Viktor Postol which affected him. And, he admitted he could have done better, that the fight being postponed a couple time threw him off. Yes, for a post victory interview, the Cali boxer looked almost downcast.

Maybe after sleeping on it, he'll see the bright side, namely that he snagged a majority decision against a respectable vet Saturday night at MGM's Bubble in Las Vegas.

Postol threw more, but the judges overall liked what Ramirez brought to the table power-wise after twelve on this Top Rank promotion.

Judging by the social media chatter, many folks really liked that 114-114 card.

I suspect one or two or more people will be telling Jose hey, next time, you look great. This time, you got the win, that's what matters most.

Here's the release Top Rank sent out after the card:

LAS VEGAS (August 29, 2020) — WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez solved the riddle of Viktor “The Iceman” Postol. In his first bout as a unified world champion, Ramirez came on strong late to edge Postol via majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.

Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) swept the last three rounds of two of the judges' cards to pull out the win. Postol (31-3, 12 KOs), a former WBC 140-pound world champion, saw his two-bout winning streak come to an end. 

Ramirez kept alive his hopes of unifying the division with WBA/IBF world champion Josh Taylor, a promotional stablemate who bested Postol by unanimous decision in June 2018. Taylor defends his belts Sept. 26 against Apinun Khongsong, live on ESPN+.

Said Ramirez, “I went in there a little too cold, you know? I impressed myself. I’m much stronger than most guys think. I just gotta not lose confidence in myself and stick to what I do best and box, let my hands go and not hesitate too much. I think there was a little bit of hesitation throughout the fight.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the ring. There have been a lot of things that have happened in my personal life. It’s been such a long training camp. I think {I went} through the routine instead of, ‘Let’s fight.’

“I felt like I was just in a sparring session. I think I could’ve made the fight a lot easier in my favor, but we live and we learn. This was an amazing experience. I’m just happy I got the win.”

Said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, “It was a good fight, but both men were impacted by going through three training camps and the whole situation with COVID-19. That being said, I thought Jose clearly won the fight.”

Barboza: Still Undefeated

Junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (24-0, 10 KOs), the fighting pride of South El Monte, Calif., remained unbeaten with a workmanlike unanimous decision (99-90 3x) over Tony “The Lightning” Luis (29-4, 10 KOs), a former interim world title challenger who entered the fight on a 10-bout winning streak.

Barboza applied steady pressure throughout, with the only hiccup coming when referee Mike Ortega deducted a point for low blows.

Barboza shows a tiger's eyes, and he kept his focus on the prize, which is a step up fight…and then a larger prize, that being a title crack. (Photo by Mikey Williams)

Ranked in the Top 10 by two of the sanctioning organizations, he has bigger fights on his radar.

Said Barboza, “To be honest, I haven’t fought since last November. I haven’t gone 10 rounds in a while. He was a tough guy. I needed the rounds. I showed a little bit of what I’ve been working on in the corner, going southpaw and all that. I give my performance a ‘B.’ I wasn’t really satisfied because I didn’t get the stoppage. It happens.

“I want {Alex} Saucedo. I think me and him would be a great fight. I know he wants it. I want it, so we could probably get it on soon. If he’s ready, I’ll be ready.”

In other action:

— Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez  (9-0-1, 9 KOs) scored his third “Bubble” knockout (click here to see it), stopping Cody Wilson (9-3, 6 KOs) with a left hand in the third round of their scheduled six-round welterweight bout. Rodriguez, trained by Freddie Roach, has notched seven consecutive knockouts since a first-round technical draw.

Elvis made Cody leave the building tasting the extra sting of a loss by stoppage. (Photo by Mikey Williams)

Said Rodriguez, “We knew it was going to be a tough fight because I’m a 140-pound fighter, but this fight took place at 144 pounds. I knew I had to be patient, but I knew that I could set up that knockout.

“When someone like Freddie Roach, a Hall of Famer, a legendary trainer, says that about someone like me, wow, that’s amazing. It’s also bringing some pressure because I have to perform. I know that under him, I’m going to continue to develop my skills, my talent, and I’m not going to let anyone down.”

— Rising lightweight Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (10-0, 8 KOs) extended his knockout streak to five with a seventh-round TKO over Cesar Valenzuela (15-7-1, 5 KOs). Muratalla recovered from a flash knockdown in the second round to dominate the duration of the bout. The accumulation of punishment prompted referee Mike Ortega to stop the fight.

— Bantamweight prospect Gabriel “El Maestro” Muratalla (5-0, 3 KOs), the fighting preschool teacher, improved to 3-0 inside the “Bubble” with a four-round unanimous decision over Justice Bland (2-1). Muratalla rebounded from a first-round knockdown to sweep the final three rounds on the judges' scorecards, each of whom scored it 38-36.

— Milwaukee native and top middleweight prospect Javier Martinez (2-0) cruised to a six-round unanimous decision over Rance Ward (4-2-1, 2 KOs) by identical scores of 60-54. Martinez, a former U.S. amateur star, turned pro under the Top Rank banner last month.