Eddie Ramirez entered his second career main event looking to accomplish two things: remain undefeated and treat the fans to another action-packed performance. He ended up nailing one of those goals—but thankfully for Ramirez, it was the most important one.
Coming off exciting stoppage victories in his previous two fights, rising prospect Eddie Ramirez (17-0, 11 KOs) didn’t find a willing dance partner in Erick Bone (16-5, 8 KOs) on Tuesday night in their 143-pound showdown at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. But while Ramirez didn’t get an opportunity to engage in a firefight with Bone, the 25-year-old Aurora, Illinois, native did put on a solid enough performance to earn a 10-round split decision.
All three judges scored the fight 97-93, with Adalaide Byrd giving the nod to Bone, only to be overruled by Tim Cheatham and Glenn Trowbridge, both of whom saw it in favor of Ramirez.
“I knew [Bone] was going to run a lot,” Ramirez said. “From what I’ve seen from him in previous fights, he backs up a lot. He moves pretty well, but I came to fight, not to run around.
“I was putting on the pressure. I wanted to give a good fight to the fans, but he wouldn’t let me. He didn’t even throw a lot of punches. What can I say? He was just running.”
Ramirez pressed the action for much of the bout, landing his jab to the head and body while walking Bone down to set up crisp power shots. Bone proved an elusive target, though, fighting off his back foot and relying heavily on his counterpunching. Those punches misfired often, however, thanks to Ramirez’s impeccable defense.
Although Ramirez was the more aggressive fighter from the opening bell, the 2013 Chicago Golden Gloves champion and national runner-up trailed on two of the official scorecards through five rounds. Ramirez started to have more success in the latter half of the fight by cutting off the ring and bullying Bone to the ropes.
“ I knew I was going to win. It was going to be close just because he was running throughout the whole fight, but I knew I had the fight won. ” Eddie Ramirez, after earning a 10-round split decision over Erick Bone
As the fight progressed, though, Bone’s backpedaling increased to the point that Ramirez twice paused in Round 9 and banged his gloves against his body in frustration, as if to tell the 28-year-old Ecuadorian, “Come on, man—stand and fight!”
Given the way the bout played out, Ramirez said he was never worried when the first score was read in favor of Bone after the fight.
“I knew I was going to win,” he said. “It was going to be close just because he was running throughout the whole fight, but I knew I had the fight won.”
Not surprisingly, Bone had a different opinion after losing his fourth straight fight, with the previous three defeats coming against former world champions Miguel Vazquez, Chris Algieri and Shawn Porter.
“I don’t agree with the decision,” said Bone, who last was victorious in October 2014. “I am frustrated because I know I won, however the [judges] saw it differently. I landed more punches, and I just don’t see how they came to the decision that was made.
“[Ramirez] was a good fighter, a tough opponent, but again I believe the wrong decision was made tonight.”
Galarza, Martinez roll to unanimous decisions
In other televised action, Dennis Galarza (16-2, 9 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York, won a lopsided unanimous decision over Omar Tienda (18-5, 11 KOs) of Guadalupe, Mexico, in a 10-round clash of 135-pound prospects.
Also, Xavier Martinez (8-0, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, California, pummeled Prince Smalls (11-1-1, 4 KOs) of San Diego en route to an eight-round shutout victory in a battle of unbeaten 126-pound prospects.
For a complete overview of Ramirez vs Bone, visit our fight page.
Eddie Ramirez applied the pressure to Erick Bone over 10 rounds Tuesday night and earned a split decision in their 143-pound bout at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. (Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
