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Sharp Josh Taylor the Better Ring General, Scores UD12 Win Over Jose Ramirez
It wasn’t the war that was predicted by many, because Josh Taylor had too many weapons and a superiority in skills at the Las Vegas Virgin Hotel on Saturday night, against Jose Ramirez.
The Scot scored knockdowns in round six and round seven, and Ramirez simply wasn’t able to get a bead on Taylor long enough to hurt him, or take something out of him and try to drown him late. The judges had it 114-112, times three, but it was wider than that, a good deal wider, more along the lines of 8-3-1 for Josh Taylor, with two extra points for knockdowns, on my card.
Taylor was the better man, zero doubt, on this night, and he can boast he is THE MAN at junior welterweight.
Josh Taylor post-fight told Bernardo Osuna that he thought he won much more widely than the judges said. Also, he said he respects the hell out of Ramirez, and that he was acting up this week just to try and get in his head. He apologized to Ramirez in the ring after the match, he said. “There’s a new warrior king, and he’s from Scotland,” Taylor stated.
Trainer Ben Davison told Joe Tessitore after that his guy did so well staying composed. He said they spent hours drilling on how to tie up on the ropes, that was one of the things they knew they would need to do correctly.
Robert Garcia, trainer to Jose Ramirez, said after he wanted to watch the fight, he heard some saying the second knockdown came off a break. Replay showed that the ref had his hands up, and it didn’t look on replay like it was a break situation. Garcia knew the fight would be close, because of the knockdowns, he said.
The Top Rank scrap screened on ESPN.
The lefty Josh Taylor started well, getting the distance he wanted. Ramirez got hit with a sharp left and shook his head, naw, you didn’t bother me. A Ramirez right to the body landed clean. Close round…
Ramirez had some luck late in round two, after spending the first two thirds finding Josh Taylor hard to find. He had more luck in the third, Taylor wasn’t moving as much, and he didn’t look as in control of the pace as he had previously. Looked like Ramirez buzzed Taylor, maybe more than once, in that round.
In the fourth, Ramirez was like a pitbull late, to steal away the round. This was by now a full on fight, and Josh Taylor wasn’t that measured mover that he started out to be.
The rights to the gut, they were sneaky, and effective for Ramirez. His eyes shone, indicating his confidence, but he didn’t get reckless, because he sensed a turning of the tide, he stayed composed in the fifth.
To the sixth–we saw Ramirez hit the deck. Ref Kenny Bayless warned Josh Taylor after the round, but he was happy with the 10-8 round. A counter left, after slipping a right hand, dropped the California boxer leaning in.
In the seventh, Josh Taylor looked super confident. He liked the distance and the pace, too. And down went Ramirez, again. He beat the count, and there were 10 seconds left. He finished the round. It was a left uppercut on a sleeping Ramirez, who was thinking they were in close and no one would be throwing.
In the eight, we saw Taylor the more accurate and being the man with the faster hands. He saw angles he liked and was wanting to hurl the uppercut. Ramirez was a step behind in the ninth, he looked a bit tired and desperate. Then he picked it up, and Taylor lagged and the ninth was tight, but maybe a Ramirez round. Trainer Robert Garcia asked for body work and made clear they needed to win rounds. A lack of head movement was to the liking of Taylor, his left hand got there quick and landed clean now and again.
In the 11th, we saw a long left land clean, and Josh Taylor kept up the polite pressure, not wanting to assume he was up on the cards.
In the 12th, Josh Taylor stayed smart, so he wouldn’t get caught, and we went to the cards.
