LAS VEGAS – This wasn’t the type of stoppage Jesus Ramos was confident he would produce Saturday night, but he beat Joey Spencer by technical knockout.
Spencer’s father and trainer, Jason, asked referee Tony Weeks to stop their 10-round junior middleweight match in the sixth round after Ramos connected with a left-right-left-right-left combination that moved Spencer backward. Spencer was on his feet when Weeks halted the action at 1:25 of the sixth round.
Ramos dropped Spencer late in the first round and was clearly winning, but Spencer made their fight somewhat competitive during the previous four rounds.
The 22-year-old Ramos, of Casa Grande, Arizona, improved to 20-0 and produced his 16th knockout. The 23-year-old Spencer, of Linden, Michigan, lost for the first time as a pro (16-1, 10 KOs).
Before their fight was stopped, Ramos and Spencer angled for position and traded short shots on the inside for much of the sixth round. Ramos’ left hand backed up Spencer with less than 10 seconds to go in the sixth round, but Spencer fired back before the round ended.
With his hands by his side, Spencer crouched down and defended himself well for much of the fifth round. He didn’t throw, let alone land, many punches during those three minutes.
With Spencer backed against the ropes, he and Ramos traded hard punches just after the halfway point of the fourth round. Spencer landed a left and then a right to Ramos’ body a little less than a minute into the fourth round.
A straight left by Ramos backed up Spencer at the midway mark of the third round.
Ramos’ straight left backed Spencer into the ropes in the final minute of the second round.
A left-right-left combination by Ramos moved Spencer backward during the middle minute of the second round. A round after Ramos dropped him, Spencer let his hands go in combination 50 seconds into the second round. Ramos picked off many of those shots with his gloves.
Ramos’ short left hand on the inside dropped Spencer with just under 25 seconds to go in the opening round. A stunned Spencer got to his feet quickly and traded with Ramos as soon as Weeks brought them back together to fight.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.