Robeisi Ramirez looked like he would be effective enough to possibly avenge another loss on Saturday night.
He then channeled his inner Roberto Duran.
After absorbing a red hand to his damaged right eye, Ramirez turned his back on Rafael Espinoza, waved the glove and delivered a “no mas” moment in the sixth round of their featherweight title rematch. As Ramirez walked away from Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs), referee Chris Flores had no choice but to stop their scheduled 12-round, 126-pound title fight 12 seconds into the sixth round at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Cuban-born Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs) explained to ESPN’s Bernard Osuna during a post-fight interview that he stopped boxing because he couldn’t see out of his right eye. Ramirez told his head trainer, Ismael Salas, that he had double vision before rising from his chair to begin the sixth round.
“Look, what ended up happening is in the fourth round he hit me with some elbows down the stretch,” Ramirez told Osuna. “I complained to the judge about it. He did his job, supposedly, and this happened.
“Look, I had to make a decision for my health, if I’m not protected.” You see, I had double vision, and I had to make sure I left this ring with my health. You see I’m fine, thankfully, but I just couldn’t see out of my right eye.”
Ramirez was ahead through five rounds on the scorecards of judges Tim Cheetham and Dennis O’Connell, both of whom had the two-time Olympic gold medalist by one point, 48-47. Referee Zachary Young had Espinoza ahead 49-46 in the sixth round.
Espinoza questioned Ramirez’s reasoning for refusing to continue playing at Top Rank ahead of the WBO Junior Lightweight Championship rematch between champion Emmanuel Navarrete and former champion Oscar Valdez.
“I threw a clean shot, that right hand, and he felt that power,” Espinoza told Osuna. “I think he felt the power.” He started to feel my pressure, and I think the fight turned in terms of the tide. (It) worked in my favor. He felt my power and I think he knew what was coming.” Ramirez was a 16-1 favorite to beat Espinoza in their first matchup, but an unheralded Espinoza upset him by majority decision nearly a year earlier in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Guadalajara’s Espinoza came off the canvas in a fifth-round knockdown in December 2023, forcing Espinoza to take a knee late in the 12th.th round and won their candidate for “fight of the year” by two scores (115-111, 114-112, 113-113).