Rafael Espinoza says he’s open to preventing WBO tremendous featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete following his sixth-round technical knockout victory over Robeisy Ramirez of their rematch final Saturday night time on the Footprint Heart in Phoenix, Arizona.
Navarrete is likely to be too massive of a puncher for lanky Rafael Espinoza to take care of if he had been to maneuver as much as tremendous featherweight to problem him for his WBO title. The cash would doubtlessly be higher for Espinoza than staying at 126, however it will be a dangerous struggle.
Navarrete destroyed a very overmatched Oscar Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) within the sixth spherical in the primary occasion final night time. He dropped Valdez thrice within the struggle and scored a physique shot knockout within the sixth spherical. It was a 100% useless rematch, as Navarrete had already simply overwhelmed Valdez final 12 months, profitable a lopsided 12-round unanimous choice on August 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. The struggle was NOT aggressive.
Robeisy’s Decline
WBO featherweight champion Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) compelled the two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy (14-3, 9 KOs) to stop within the sixth spherical when he caught him with sharp proper hand straight down the pipe. Robeisy circled instantly and stop. Espinoza confirmed his class by not belting him in the meanwhile, as he was defenseless would have been on the mercy of a the 6’1″ Mexican champion.
Ramirez, 30, claimed he had double imaginative and prescient in his proper eye from the elbows that Espinoza had caught him with starting within the fourth spherical. Nevertheless, there was no swelling on that eye in that spherical or the fifth. It was solely till the sixth spherical that Robeisy’s proper eye swelled, and that got here after the the precise hand that Espinoza landed that compelled him to stop. Ramirez’s eye did effectively visibly instantly after the struggle and he didn’t look good.
The previous WBO 126-lb champion Ramirez misplaced his title to Espinoza of their first struggle on December ninth final 12 months, shedding a 12-round majority choice in a aggressive contest. Ramirez gassed out from the quick tempo that Espinoza placed on him within the second half and was dropped within the twelfth spherical of that contest.
With the loss, Ramirez’s temporary time as a top-level fighter might have ended. The Cuban Robeisy is an old-looking 30, and nowhere close to the identical fighter, he was when he captured two gold medals within the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro.
These medals had been gained at Flyweight and bantamweight for Robeisy. Ramirez doesn’t look minimize out for the load class at featherweight, nevertheless it’s unlikely he might trim all the way down to compete at 118 or 112 at his age. Is it time for Robeisy to retire? It is likely to be. Both means, High Rank has to think about whether or not to re-sign him when his contract ends.
Espinoza’s Assertion
“I feel he was pissed off by the strain. I do know he was connecting, and he observed that it wasn’t inflicting any injury to me. So, mentally, I used to be sturdy, and I feel I might do higher than him mentally as effectively. He was fatigued, and he was barely touchdown on me,” mentioned Rafael Espinoza through the post-fight press convention, speaking about Robeisy Ramirez. “He misplaced in that psychological recreation.
“I might have fought any person else, however I needed this struggle,” Espinoza mentioned about his rematch with the Cuban Ramirez. “He might be a champion. That would occur.
“I need the perfect fights. I wish to unify and transfer up.”
