Most of the focus from this past weekend will be on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight which was buffered to millions by Netflix on Friday night. But this column will be dedicated to some of the notable stuff that took place at AT@T Stadium and then in Saudi Arabia the next day.
My view is that by this juncture you've heard every opinion there is to have about Tyson-Paul. You're free to have any opinion you want. Quite frankly, I'm already feeling the fatigue of explaining what took place. The general public may not care but there were actually some really good fights that took place.
They were everything that Tyson-Paul was not.
- On the undercard on Friday night, Mario Barrios defended his WBC welterweight title, against veteran Abel Ramos. Early on Barrios was dominating the action, buzzing Ramos in the opening round, and then scoring a knockdown in the second. It seemed as though this would be an easy night at the office.
But then in round six, Ramos uncorked a big right hand that stunned Barrios, which eventually sent him down. This was no flash knockdown. As Ramos rose, he was unsteady. Barrios was shaky for the next few rounds before he gathered himself in the championship rounds.
Esther Lin/MVP
After 12, it was Barrios holding onto his belt via split decision. Neither Barrios or Ramos is considered an elite fighter, but they still put on a good show.
- You get the sense that if Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano fought a hundred times, you get a hundred hotly contested bouts. Which is precisely what took place in their rematch. These two ladies had a memorable bout back in 2022 at Madison Square Garden as headliners. It was Taylor who came away with a disputed split decision.
This time around, the action was even more heated and sustained. In round one, Serrano buzzed Taylor with a sizzling left hand. It was the Puerto Rican southpaw who was the one applying the steady pressure. But as Taylor regained her bearings, she would begin to counter-punch effectively, and layer accurate combinations. The exchanges were plentiful throughout this battle.
Esther Lin/MVP
Serrano suffered a nasty gash above here right eye. You can argue (which members of Serrano's teams certainly did) that Taylor was using her head intentionally, but there is no doubt that it impacted Serrano's vision.
After 10 rounds, it was Taylor once again winning a razor thin decision (95-94 on all three cards). You can make an argument that Serrano has won both bouts between the two. If there was ever an argument for a fight to be a trilogy where the series is 2-0 in the favor of one boxers, it's this one.
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano - Fight Highlights | #PaulTyson
There are those who believe women should have the right to box three-minute rounds. I'd argue that the two-minute stanzas create better pacing for their fights.
- On Saturday at the Venue in Riyadh, it was 'Latin Night' presented by Golden Boy Promotions, and one of the featured bouts was the lightweight pairing between William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer. For Zepeda -- who is rated number one by all four sanctioning bodies at 135 -- it was a test run to see how he'd fare against Shakur Stevenson.
Riyadh Season: Latino Night | William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer Fight Highlights
Zepeda started off with his trademark pressure, and was touching the slick-boxing Farmer early on. But seemingly out of nowhere, Farmer sent Zepeda down with a booming left hand. While not known as a puncher, Farmer is one that is accurate and sneaky.
Cris Esqueda/GBP
There was consistent back-and-forth action between the two. While you kept waiting for Farmer to fold, he didn't buckle. Instead he more than held his own in these exchanges. The native of Philadelphia wasn't just boxing, but he was doing more than his share of fighting inside the pocket. Just as he did in the summer versus another upstart lightweight, Raymond Muratalla, Farmer was proving to be more than just a tune-up bout.
When the cards were read, it was Zepeda getting out by the skin of his teeth. In what was a split decision, he got the nod by the scores of 95-95, 94-95 and 95-94. This really was that close.
- The main event of this card was the cruiserweight unification contest between Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith. Ramirez, a former super middleweight titlist, and light heavyweight title challenger, had a reputation as a rather methodical -- some would say, boring -- fighter. That certainly hasn't been the case as a cruiserweight.
Riyadh Season: Latino Night | Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez vs. Chris Billam-Smith Fight Highlights
While he might not have the natural size of guys like Billam-Smith, he has superior quickness and athleticism, that he uses to land quick combinations. In his cruiserweight bouts, Ramirez has been more than willing to stick inside the pocket and let his hands go. All the while, he has shown that he has the durability to withstand the oncoming leather.
Cris Esqueda/GBP
Against Billam-Smith he consistently beat his opponent to the punch. No, he's not a true thumper in this division but he hits more than hard enough to get the attention of his foes, and he works in volume. Billam-Smith was game but out-gunned. It was Ramirez winning by the scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 116-112, who now has the WBA and WBO belts around his waist.
'Zurdo' isn't just a unified champion, he's now a guy who is ditching his past reputation as someone who isn't in entertaining bouts.
