Dmitry Bivol vs. Gilberto Ramirez: LIVE round-by-round updates, results, full coverage
Dmitry Bivol defeated Gilberto Ramirez by a wide decision to retain his light heavyweight title.
The official scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.
Ramirez was competitive for four rounds, after which the quicker, more skillful Bivol found a groove and outclassed the previously unbeaten Mexican challenger.
You can read a full report here.
ROUND 12
Ramirez went for the knockout but it was the same story. The challenger was active but missed most of his shots against one of the best defensive boxers. Meanwhile, Bivol continued to land quick, eye-catching shots. Boxing Junkie scored the fight 117-111 for Bivol, nine rounds to three.
ROUND 11
Ramirez fought with more urgency because he knows he needs a knockout but he paid a price. A more-active Bivol greeted Ramirez with some of his cleanest power punches of the fight.
ROUND 10
Bivol took that round off. Ramirez was busy for most of the round, although he continued to have trouble landing cleanly. Still, his work rate and Bivol’s relative lack of activity probably gave the Mexican the round.
ROUND 9
A more-assertive Ramirez was having a decent round, including some good bodywork. Then, with about a minute to go, Bivol landed some of the biggest power shots of the fight.
ROUND 8
Ramriez needs to throw caution to the win and apply constant pressure on Bivol if he hopes to win this fight. The round was fairly close because Bivol didn’t do all that much, although he did enough to win the round.
ROUND 7
Bivol is in control, dictating the pace, throwing and landing more punches. He blasted Ramirez with a hard counter mid-round, which seemed to light a fire under Ramirez but it was short lived. Ramirez isn’t getting enough done.
ROUND 6
Good round for Bivol, who pushed the action and really found a groove. He more or less picked Ramirez apart from distance with clean, accurate shots. Ramirez had no answer. Ramirez isn’t going to the body.
ROUND 5
Ramirez asserted himself to some degree that round but ran into some hard shots for his trouble. Bivol is landing the quicker, cleaner shots. Still, Ramirez deserves some credit for pushing the action. Still a close fight.
ROUND 4
Another competitive round. Ramirez is less aggressive and boxing better than most people thought he would. And he has a clear size advantage, which is making Bivol’s mission particularly difficult.
ROUND 3
Better round for Bivol, who showed off his defensive skills. Ramirez is throwing more punches than Bivol is but landing at a low percentage. Bivol is more accurate with his shots.
ROUND 2
Good round for Ramirez, although it was close. The Mexican had some success to the body and landed one eye-catching left to the head. Both fighters were more active that round.
ROUND 1
Largely a feel-out round, as neither fighter landed many telling blows. Bivol did land a good straight right in the middle of the round and finished by connecting on a few power shots in the final seconds.
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We’re only minutes away from the Dmitry Bivol-Gilberto Ramirez fight.
Come back here for round-by-round analysis. Just refresh after each round.
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Chantelle Cameron (17-0, 8 KOs) of the U.K. defeated Jessica McCaskill (12-3, 5 KOs) of Chicago by a unanimous decision in a 10-round bout to become the undisputed 140-pound champion.
The official scores were 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94.
The more skillful Cameron dominated McCaskill in the first half of the fight-plus, outboxing and outworking her.
McCaskill, fighting with urgency, was more competitive in the second half of the fight but she couldn’t do enough to make up for the early deficit on the scorecards.
McCaskill is the undisputed 147-pound champion, meaning she had to drop down in weight for the fight on Saturday.
Cameron said afterward that she’d like to challenge for McCaskill’s four 147-pound belts.
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Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14 KOs) of Tajikistan stopped Zelfa Barrett (28-2, 16 KOs) of the U.K. in the ninth round of a scheduled 12-rounder to win the vacant IBF 130-pound title.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:35.
The athletic Barrett boxed well for eight-plus rounds but ultimately he was worn down by Rakhimov’s pressure and hit the canvas twice in the final round.
Rakhimov reportedly will make his first defense against Joe Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs). Cordina had been scheduled to defend the IBF title against Rakhimov on Saturday but he had to pull out with a hand injury, which cost him his belt.
Rakhimov is based in Los Angeles, where he’s trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach.
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Light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol, coming off his upset of Canelo Alvarez, will defend his belt against Gilberto Ramirez on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (DAZN).
The main portion of the card is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.
Boxing Junkie will post results of the main event and other featured bouts immediately afterward. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
