Jose Ramirez vs Maurice Hooker

José Ramírez added Maurice Hooker’s World Boxing Organisation super-lightweight championship to his own World Boxing Council title by stopping the Texan in the sixth round at the College Park Centre in Arlington on July 27, 2019. Referee Mark Nelson intervened after one minute and 48 seconds with Hooker trapped against the ropes and taking a succession of unanswered blows. Ramírez entered with 24 victories from as many contests, while Hooker was unbeaten in 29 professional appearances, including three draws. Both weighed 139½ pounds for a contest which brought together two champions from rival promotional and broadcasting arrangements, Ramírez crossing from Top Rank and ESPN to appear on a Matchroom Boxing promotion shown by DAZN.

Hooker was making the third defence of the WBO championship he had won by defeating Terry Flanagan in Manchester the previous year. At 5ft 11in, with unusually long arms for the division, he held the obvious advantages in height and reach. His best work came from behind a straight jab, followed by the right hand or a left hook as an opponent stepped forward. Ramírez was the shorter and more compact fighter. He had won the vacant WBC title against Amir Imam. He defended it against Antonio Orozco and José Zepeda, but the narrow nature of the Zepeda decision had caused some doubt regarding his position among the leading men at 140 pounds. His task in Arlington was to cross Hooker’s jab, deny him room and make the contest an exchange at middle and close range.

Hooker began the opening round in the centre of the ring, using his reach and attempting to keep Ramírez at the end of the jab. Ramírez moved in quickly, changing his level and springing forward with the left hand. Hooker was credited with a knockdown when he fell near the ropes, although replays showed that Ramírez had stepped upon his lead foot as the punch was delivered. The referee’s ruling made it a 10–8 round despite the doubtful nature of the incident. Hooker recovered without difficulty and returned to his jab, landing several clean straight punches as Ramírez advanced. The Californian nevertheless finished the round strongly, reaching the body and head with his left hook.

Ramírez applied heavier pressure in the second. Hooker still found him with the jab and caught him with a hook as he entered, but he remained near the ropes for too long. Ramírez worked beneath the extended arms, doubled the left hook to body and head and brought the right hand over the top. Hooker’s long frame was less useful at that distance because he could not obtain the leverage or space needed for his straight punches. He tried to turn away after exchanging, but Ramírez stayed close and made him work continuously. The round was fought at a brisk pace, with Hooker landing enough counters to remain competitive but Ramírez doing the more sustained work.

Hooker’s corner instructed him to avoid the ropes, and he responded well in the third. He held the centre more firmly, used the jab with greater regularity and caught Ramírez with check hooks as the WBC champion came forward. A right hand to the body and further punches to the head checked Ramírez’s progress. Hooker’s combinations were at their best when he created a full step of distance before releasing them. Near the bell, he landed a strong sequence; Ramírez answered immediately, and both men continued punching after the round had ended. Hooker maintained his improvement in the fourth. He jabbed to the body and head, followed with the straight right and prevented Ramírez from setting a constant forward rhythm. Ramírez replied with a hard left to the body, but Hooker’s cleaner work at range gave him another good round.

The fifth was closely contested and contained some of the best exchanges of the fight. Hooker again scored with his jab in the centre, but Ramírez was more successful in moving him towards the ropes. Once there, Ramírez attacked with repeated left hooks, varying the target between the ribs and the head. Hooker answered with a firm left to the body and a hook upstairs, and neither man showed any inclination to retreat when they met in the centre. Ramírez’s pressure was requiring considerable effort, while Hooker’s greater accuracy allowed him to score cleanly even when he was being forced backwards. After five rounds the official judges had Ramírez ahead by 49–45 and 48–46, with the third card level at 47–47. The disputed first-round knockdown accounted for part of the champion’s advantage.

Hooker opened the sixth with several long jabs and appeared to have resumed the more suitable tactical pattern. Ramírez continued to attack the body, however, and remained prepared to take a jab to reach punching distance. Midway through the round, he landed a heavy left hook to the head which immediately disturbed Hooker’s balance. Hooker staggered backwards towards the ropes, where Ramírez followed without hesitation. He delivered nine further unanswered punches, including right hands and left hooks to the chin. Hooker remained upright only because the ropes supported him and made no effective reply. Nelson stepped between the fighters while Hooker was still standing, preventing further punishment. Hooker afterwards accepted that the intervention had been correct.

The stoppage gave Ramírez his 25th victory and 17th inside the distance, while Hooker suffered his first professional defeat. The figures showed that Hooker had landed more punches overall, connecting with 129 of 360 against Ramírez’s 99 of 414, but they also demonstrated the limits of punch totals when the heavier and more decisive blows belong to the other man. Hooker’s jab and right hand had troubled Ramírez, particularly in the third and fourth rounds. Yet, he was repeatedly drawn or driven towards the ropes, where his reach became a hindrance, and Ramírez’s compact combinations carried greater force. Ramírez had taken risks to close the distance and had been hit cleanly, but his body attack, physical pressure and left hook settled an excellent contest before questions of stamina or scoring could become decisive. The victory left him holding two of the four principal championships at super-lightweight and established him as one of the division’s leading figures alongside the eventual winner of the World Boxing Super Series meeting between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis.