Ivan Baranchyk (right) vs. Abel Ramos. Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
Before the final bell sounded on Friday night, Showtime color man and 2017 IBHOF inductee Steve Farhood was already compelled to proclaim this fight as one of the Top 5 fights he’s seen in the 16-year history of the “ShoBox: The New Generation” series. Farhood wasn’t caught up in a hyperbolic moment as Ivan Baranchyk and Abel Ramos put themselves through a meat grinder at an Indian Casino in Oklahoma.
Rounds three through seven, in particular were where the back-and-forth action was sustained the most. It all started when Baranchyk landed an overhand right that sent Ramos to the canvas with a minute remaining in the third. Ramos, 25, was in control in the time leading up to that knockdown, using a counter left hand that prodded the forward-moving, and sometimes wild, Russian. Ramos got up quickly – hinting it was merely a flash knockdown – and that became even truer as he let his hands go, until the final seconds of the round. Just before the bell sounded, Ramos landed a left hook that buckled Baranchyk to the canvas for a knockdown, repaying his debt.
If it hadn’t already happened at the end of the third, hell broke loose from the fourth round on. Baranchyk and Ramos traded nothing but toe-to-toe power shots and the fight quickly turned into a war of attrition. Baranchyk managed to connect on a left hook that sent Ramos into a stumbling backpedal in the fourth. He couldn’t gather his feet but wasn’t hurt after getting sent to the canvas for the second time. Once getting back to his feet, Ramos got back to work and the fight resumed it’s back-and-forth theme.
Ivan Baranchyk (left) vs. Abel Ramos. Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime
Round six was perhaps the fight’s best even though neither man was knocked down. Their aggression to start the round was noticeably intensified as it started but Ramos slowed Baranchyk down with a brutal body shot that momentarily had him breathing heavily out of his mouth. Ramos let his hands go, once he realized Baranchyk was sputtering but, by round’s end, Abel tired himself out and Ivan found his second wind.
Baranchyk, 14-0 (10), consistently found a home for his right hand in the final moments of a great sixth round. He parlayed that success into the seventh and that’s when he started to separate himself from his opponent. Ramos, 17-2-2 (12), was still using his counter left hand effectively but the luster in his shots had dwindled at this point in the fight. Baranchyk seemed fresher, when compared to his foe, and, by the end of the eighth round, Ramos’ left eye was starting to swell shut. Baranchyk eventually closed that eye by fight’s end and, while the final scorecards (97-92, 99-91, 97-93) didn’t reflect the tremendous effort by Ramos, the right man won the fight.
Nicknamed “The Beast”, Baranchyk had an elaborate ring entrance that involved a blackout of the lights, an elaborate cage, in which he was encased, and fake chains he broke off his wrists once exiting the cage. Gimmicky, sure, but not when it precedes a fight such as this one.
Fight of the Week
Ivan Baranchyk UD 10 Abel Ramos (140) | Feb. 10 – Miami, Oklahoma
Honorable mentions
Zhanat Zhakiyanov SD 12 Rau’shee Warren (WBA 118) | Feb. 10 – Toledo, Ohio
Jon Fernandez TKO 3 Ernesto Garza III (130) | Feb. 10 – Miami, Oklahoma
KO of the Week
Jairo Llanes KO 1 Emmanuel Valenzuela (135) | Feb. 11 – Guadalajara, Mexico
Honorable mention
Alexander Villa KO 1 Leonardo Cervantes (130) | February 10 – Guadalajara, Mexico
Fighter of the Week
Zhanat Zhakiyanov, 27-1 (18)
Ricky Hatton (left) and WBA bantamweight titlist Zhanat Zhakiyanov. Photo courtesy of Ricky Hatton on Twitter
Things looked bleak in the opening round for the 33-year-old from Kazakhstan.
A precise combination from Rau’shee Warren had Zhakiyanov hurt with a little over two minutes into the bantamweight world title bout,and, while referee Gary Rosato shouted his count, the crowd at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, was on its feet. Warren, who’s from Cincinnati, spurred that crowd on with his excitement while Zhakiyanov regained his footing and the next right hook he landed sent “ZZ” back to the mat. The crowd was now jumping.
Zhanat Zhakiyanov (right) vs. Rau’shee Warren. Photo credit: Leo Wilson/Premier Boxing Champions
Zhakiyanov wasn’t deterred after a seemingly disastrous opening three minutes. Quickly he began to stalk a swift-footed Warren around the ring in the second round and, in the final moments of the third, an overhand right cracked Rau’shee with his back against the ropes. The shot slowly slumped him forward and onto the canvas but Rosato didn’t rule it a knockdown. However, with his nose bloodied as he returned to his corner, Warren was given a clear indication that Zhakiyanov was only getting started.
Warren, 14-2 (4), was mauled by the Kazakh throughout the rest of the fight. He couldn’t establish a strong enough jab to ward his stalker off and constantly found himself eating right hands with his back against the ropes in the middle rounds. Making things even tougher, the leaking blood from Warren’s nose never let up. Former undisputed junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton, Zhakiyanov’s promoter and trainer, reminded his pupil between every round that his pressure could not stop and his fighter was conditioned well enough to deliver.
Warren had sporadic moments of success in the late going against an opponent, who opened himself up, but he certainly didn’t hurt Zhakiyanov again since the opening round. Given Warren’s distressed effort, Zhakiyanov was the dictator in the ring on this night and, therefore, the true winner of the fight.
Zhanat Zhakiyanov (left) vs. Rau’shee Warren. Photo credit: Leo Wilson/Premier Boxing Champions
Before that could be made official, however, Zhakiyanov and Hatton nervously stood side by side as they awaited a decision that took awhile to get announced. It was a split decision (116-110 and 115-111 Zhakiyanov, 111-115 Warren) and, as the scorecards were read, you could sense the beginning of disgust on Hatton’s face as the first card was for Warren but the moment ended with a joyous hug as Zhakiyanov got Hitman Promotions its first world titleholder. Now the holder of the WBA bantamweight belt, Zhakiyanov joins middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (unified IBF/WBA/WBC) as the two current world titleholders from Kazakhstan.
Rest assured, Hatton painted Toledo red on Friday night.
He's only gone & done it. Been with me years. Couldn't be prouder.x pic.twitter.com/c0oFbLVsT1
— Ricky Hatton MBE (@HitmanHatton) February 11, 2017
Hostile Agent of the Week
Vacant
Results
Last week’s results in order of weight class
World title bouts
IBF lightweight titlist Robert Easter Jr. Photo credit: Leo Wilson/Premier Boxing Champions
Robert Easter Jr. UD 12 Luis Cruz (IBF 135) | 119-106, 118-107, 117-108 | Easter defends his IBF lightweight title for the first time.
Zhanat Zhakiyanov SD 12 Rau’shee Warren (WBA 118) | 116-110, 115-111, 111-115 | Zhakiyanov is the new WBA bantamweight titleholder.
Notables
Cedric Agnew TKO 1 Martin Verdin (200)
Doudou Ngumbu SD 12 Bilal Laggoune (175) | 116-112, 115-113, 112-116
Joseph Williams MD 8 Lenin Castillo (175) | 77-75, 78-74, 76-76
Derrick Findley UD 10 Daniel Heinz (168) | 96-93 twice, 95-94
Terrell Gausha UD 10 Luis Hernandez (160) | 98-90 twice, 97-91
Eric Walker TKO 2 Zack Kuhn (154)
Giovanni Santillan UD 8 Omar Tienda (147) | 80-72 on all three scorecards
Mykal Fox MD 8 Tre’Sean Wiggins (147) | 77-75, 78-74, 76-76
Antonio DeMarco UD 10 Luis Solis (147) | 99-89 on all three scorecards
Juan Jose Velasco UD 10 Fernando Martin (147) | 95-94, 98-91, 97-92
Regis Prograis TKO 1 Wilfredo Buelvas (140)
Ivan Baranchyk UD 10 Abel Ramos (140) | 97-93, 97-92, 99-91
Anthony Yigit UD 12 Lenny Daws (140) | 118-110 twice, 116-112
Jamel Herring RTD 3 Art Hovhannisyan (135)
Tyler McCreary UD 8 Jonathan Perez (135) | 80-71 twice, 79-72
Raynell Williams TKO 2 Justin Savi (135)
Jon Fernandez TKO 3 Ernesto Garza III (130)
Jose Matias Romero TKO 2 Bernardo Gomez Uribe (130)
Rafael Rivera TD 7 Giovanni Cano (130) | 70-64 on all three socrecards
Dewayne Beamon TKO 10 Christian Esquivel (115)
Kenichi Horikawa UD 12 Koji Itagaki (115) | 116-112 twice, 117-111
Angel Acosta TKO 10 Japhet Uutoni (108)
Koki Ono UD 8 Ryoya Ikema (108) | 79-74, 79-75, 78-74
Declarations of War
Fights made official this past week
Andrzej Fonfara vs. Chad Dawson (175) | March 4 – Brooklyn, New York
Claressa Shields vs. Szilvia Szabados (160) | March 10 – Detroit, Michigan
Michael Katsidis vs. Josh King (147) | March 11 – Australia
Antonio Orozco vs. KeAndre Gibson (140) | April 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
Nehomar Cermeno vs. Shun Kubo (118) | April 9 – Osaka, Japan
Zolani Tete vs. Arthur Villanueva (115) | April 8 – Manchester, England
Imminent Conflicts
This week’s boxing schedule
Television (U.S.)
Friday, Feb. 17
Estrella TV/RingTV.com (10:00 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT) | Belasco Theater – Los Angeles, California
Robert Manzanarez vs. Gamaliel Diaz (135)
Genaro Gamez vs. Alejandro Ochoa (135)
Luis Feliciano vs. TBA (140)
UniMas (11:00 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT) | Don Haskins Convention Center – El Paso, Texas
Jose Felix Jr. vs. Johnathan Maicelo (135)
Esquiva Falcao vs. Jaime Barboza (160)
Jennifer Han vs. Olivia Gerula (IBF 126)
Pay-Per-View at www.firststatefights.com (9:00 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) | Chase Center – Wilmington, Delaware
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bobby Gunn (200)
Frank DeAlba vs. Ivan Najera (130)
Kanat Islam vs. Robson Assis (154)
Saturday, Feb. 18
Showtime (9:00 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) | Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
Adrien Broner vs. Adrian Granados (147)
David Avanesyan vs. Lamont Peterson (147)
Marcus Browne vs. Thomas Williams Jr. (175)
Notable fights not on TV
Thursday, Feb. 16
Mike Lee vs. Justin Thomas (175) | Costa Mesa, California
Friday, Feb. 17
Sam Rapira vs. Ryan Ford (175) | Singapore
Lennox Clarke vs. Bartlomiej Grafka (168) | Walsall, England
Saturday, Feb. 18
Ismayl Sillakh vs. Karama Nyilawila (200) | Nairobi, Kenya
Yuri Kashinsky vs. Kristijan Krstacic (200) | Chelyabinsk, Russia
Avni Yildrim vs. Aliaksandr Sushchyts (168) | Milan, Italy
Luka Pupek vs. Jean Michel Hamilcaro (160) | Zagreb, Croatia
Dominik Britsch vs. TBA (160) | Koblenz, Germany
Isaac Real vs. TBA (154) | Leon, Spain
Pedro Campa vs. Marvin Quintero (140) | Guaymas, Mexico
Steve Claggett vs. Juan Bedolla Orozco (140) | Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Ruben Gouveia vs. Patrick Kingamazi (135) | Annemasse, France
Zoltan Kovacs vs. Nicola Cipolleta (130) | Papa, Hungary
Tevin Farmer vs. TBA (130) | Cincinnati, Ohio
Shavkat Rakhimov vs. Rogelio Jun Doliguez (130) | Chelyabinsk, Russia
Simpiwe Vetyeka vs. David Berna (126) | Casablanca, Morocco
Isaac Sackey vs. TBA (122) | Accra, Ghana
You can reach Michael Baca II at mikebaca2@gmail.com and follow him at twitter.com/mikebaca2.
The post The War Report: Meat grinder (Week 6, 2017) appeared first on Undisputed Champion Network.