Surprise Ending: Rafael Espinoza Defends Title Against Robeisy Ramirez

On December 7, Top Rank hosted a boxing event in Phoenix, USA. The co-main event featured Mexican Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) defending his WBO featherweight title (up to 57.2 kg) against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs).

Both fighters entered the ring with one fight in 2024. Rafael secured a fourth-round TKO victory over Sergio Sanchez, while Robeisy rebounded from a loss to Espinoza last year with a seventh-round TKO win over Brandon Benitez.

The showdown at the Footprint Center ended prematurely in the sixth round.

Espinoza landed a shot near Ramirez’s right eye, leading the Cuban fighter to retire from the fight. The official result was TKO 6.

Their first encounter in December last year also ended in Espinoza's favor, with the Mexican winning via majority decision.

Fight Statistics

According to Compubox, the numbers for this matchup were:

Total Punches Landed:

Espinoza: 58 of 267 (21.7%)

Ramirez: 53 of 122 (43.4%)

Jabs Landed:

Espinoza: 24 of 151 (15.9%)

Ramirez: 13 of 41 (31.7%)

Power Punches Landed:

Espinoza: 34 of 116 (29.3%)

Ramirez: 40 of 81 (49.4%)

Body Shots Landed:

Espinoza: 13 (11 were power punches)

Ramirez: 24 (18 were power punches)

Judges Scorecards

According to the scorecards of two of the three judges, Robeisy Ramirez was winning at the time the fight was stopped.

Rafael Espinoza’s victory cements his status as a dominant champion, continuing his unbeaten streak in the featherweight division.