Heavyweight Slugger Luis Ortiz Earns Unanimous Decision
Over Christian Hammer
Eduardo Ramirez Scores Ninth-Round TKO of Bryan De Gracia
Nyob rau hauv Telecast Opener
Watch The Encore Presentation Monday At 10 P.M. ET/PT On
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Nyem NTAWM NO rau cov duab los ntawm Stephanie Trapp / Showtime
& NTAWM NO for Photos from Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
Brooklyn (Lub peb hlis ntuj 3, 2019) – Former 154-pound world champion Erislandy Lara and WBA Super Welterweight Champion Brian Castaño fought to a highly competitive split-draw Saturday at Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™, in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions. With the draw, Castaño retains the WBA belt in what was the toughest test of his career against the longtime top 154-pounder in Lara. The judges scored the fight 115-113 (Castaño), 115-113 (Lara) thiab 114-114.
Castaño (15-0-1, 11 Kos), who was fighting in his first U.S. ntsiab kev tshwm sim, held a large advantage in power connects (181-103) while Lara (25-3-3, 14 Kos) found success landing his left hand down the middle on his way to a 34 percent to 27 percent advantage in power accuracy.
In the close, difficult-to-score fight, five of the rounds were separated by three or fewer connects and three of those rounds favored Lara. In the final two rounds, Castaño ramped up the pressure and connected on 44 punches, while Lara landed only 24 punches across the championship rounds. Castaño won the final three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. Without doing so, the Argentine would have lost his belt.
After the hotly contested fight, both fighters have options, including a rematch, in the talent-rich super welterweight division.
“I know I won the fight. I feel I was robbed,” a disappointed Castaño told SHOWTIME’s Jim Gray. “If he wants the rematch, I’ll give him the rematch. I waited for him this time so I can wait for him again if he wants the rematch. I would give him the rematch if he wants. I can also go ahead and fight any other champion that wants to fight me. I’m ready for whoever they put in front of me. Hurd or anyone else.”
Lara, nyob rau lwm yam tes, felt he did enough to claim the belt: “I thought I won the fight by landing the more accurate and effective punches. Castaño came to fight but he never hurt me and I hurt him. All I can do is give the fans great fights and that’s what I’ll continue to do. I have a lot of fight left in me and I’m not going anywhere.
“If we have to fight him again, I’ll fight him. Hurd or Castaño. Anybody, I’ll have the rematch with both.”
Nyob rau hauv lub co-feature, Cuban heavyweight slugger Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26 Kos) earned a unanimous decision victory over a game Christian Rauj (24-6, 14 Kos). Although the judges scored the fight 100-90 thiab 99-91 ob zaug, both men fought through bloody noses at different points in the fight and both were stunned in a back-and-forth second round.
Ortiz, who earned his third consecutive victory since dropping a thrilling slugfest with WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder one year ago, is now looking for another world title shot.
“The fight wasn’t what I was expecting,” said Ortiz. “It was a hard fight and my corner really had to work with me. After I got the rhythm, I heated up a little bit. Every heavyweight out there should know that I still have it at 40-years-old. Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Kuv npaj txhij. "
Although Hammer fought with more energy and with more resolve than in previous fights with other top-tier heavyweights Tyson Fury and Alexander Povetkin, Ortiz used his superior technique and skills to eventually cruise to the lopsided decision. Ortiz averaged 45 jabs thrown per round and landed 61 jabs to just 20 for Hammer, while also connecting on 49 feem pua ntawm cov nws lub hwj chim punches. Ortiz made a conscious effort to attack Hammer’s body with 33.6% of his total connects (45 ntawm 140) coming via body shots.
“I fought a fight that I hadn’t for years, which is box and work,” said Ortiz. “So I’m not disappointed I didn’t knock him out because I showed some of my boxing skills tonight.”
“Ortiz is a very good and experienced fighter,” said the 31-year-old Hammer, who was making his American debut. “He’s technical and smart but he’s not as intimidating as people say he is. I respect Ortiz but I don’t think he’s the best fighter I’ve ever faced.
“I’m very confident going forward. I know that I can go the distance with anyone and I’m willing to fight anyone. People thought I’d get knocked out but I proved them wrong.”
In the telecast opener, Eduardo Ramirez (22-1-3, 9 Kos) caught Bryan De Gracia (24-2-1, 20 Kos) with a vicious right uppercut in the ninth, stunning his opponent and suddenly breaking open a close fight. Ramirez pounced on the dazed De Gracia and unleashed a wave of punches which forced referee Benjy Esteves to call the fight at 2:10 of round nine.
The southpaw Ramirez, ntawm Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, was trailing on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage according to two out of three judges (the third had it even). Ramirez, known to grow stronger in the later rounds, connected on 36 punches in round number nine, by far his highest connect total on the night. Although De Gracia was the more aggressive fighter, the Panamanian failed to consistently land punches. De Gracia was accurate on just 27 feem pua ntawm cov nws lub hwj chim punches, while Ramirez landed 38 feem pua ntawm nws.
“I definitely knew it was close but my corner kept telling me to keep going and going, and that’s when I caught him,” said Ramirez, who was fighting with a heavy heart following the passing of his grandfather. “I didn’t just come here to fight. I came here to do something and I did it.”
Nrog lub yeej, Ramirez is now in line to face WBA (Regular) Featherweight World Champion Can Xu and will be looking to challenge for a world title fight in the deep featherweight division.
In SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING COUNTDOWN action that streamed live on theSHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page, Edwin Rodriguez (31-2, 20 Kos) won a 10-round cruiserweight fight via unanimous decision overMitch Williams (16-7-3, 11 Kos) los ntawm cov qhab nia ntawm 96-94 ob zaug thiab 98-92. Coverage on social media also saw Antonio Russell (13-0, 11 Kos), younger brother of WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr., stop Jose Maria Cardenas (16-4, 13 Kos) 22 seconds into the sixth round of their bantamweight fight. In the opening bout of the digital presentation, Leduan Barthelemy (14-0-1, 7 Kos) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Aispuro (11-7-2, 7 Kos) los ntawm cov qhab nia ntawm 80-72 ob zaug thiab 79-73 in their eight-round super featherweight attraction.
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. The event was promoted by TGB Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment.
SHS BOXING TSWJ 
Williams yuav sib ntaus sib tua nyob rau hauv nws yim sib txawv teb chaws tiv thaiv Rauj, lub qub ntiaj teb Boxing Organization (WBO) European heavyweight yeej. “Kuv yog ib tug Bahamian warrior,” Williams piav yog vim li cas nws fights ntau yam thiaj li tw nyob rau hauv lawv cov tiaj nraum qaum tsev. “Los ntawm qhov, nyob rau hauv lub Caribbean, peb lub npe hu ua pirates. Kuv twb mus ncig tag nrho kuv lub neej. Peb muaj tsis muaj ciam teb rau lwm, tsuas dej rau tus ntoo khaub lig. Qhov twg kuv tua, Kuv xav tias zoo li nws yog kuv hometown ntawm Nassau. Qhov no yog ib lub thib txawv sib ntaus rau kuv lub xyoo no tab sis qhov tsuas yog ib qho uas yog tiag tiag tshwm sim. Rau lwm tus neeg poob sib nrug rau ib tug yog vim li cas los yog lwm. Kuv yuav coj kom zoo dua ntawm lub sij hawm no. Kuv mam li ntsib kev nyuaj siab sib ntaus sib tua nyob rau hauv Romania rau cov thawj lub sij hawm, tiam sis kuv yuav muaj muaj tswv yim ntawm belting nws los ntawm pillar mus post. Kuv yuav mus coj nws tawm. Kuv nqa kuv conch punch (loj overhand cai), uas yog synonymous nrog lub Bahamas, thiab cov neeg qhov txhia chaw hlub nws.”
Upshaw lub feem ntau tsis ntev los no sib ntaus tawm nyob rau hauv ib tug disappointing tsis, los ntawm txoj kev ntawm ib tug muaj teeb yim-round kev txiav txim siab, kawg rau hli ntuj mus hometown nyiam Lanell bellows (12-1-1) nyob rau hauv Las Vegas. “Kuv yeej uas sib ntaus thiab tseem poob,” Upshaw commented. “Kuv tab tom nrhiav rau ntawm boxing txawv txij li thaum kuv sib ntaus nyob rau hauv Las Vegas. Kuv twb nyiag tab sis kawm hais tias kuv yuav tsis cia li kom txog thaum kuv nrog sib ntaus yog khob qhov rooj tawm. Kuv tsis muaj nyiaj mus deb nyob rau hauv no sib ntaus (vs. Oener).”