Boxing has a new unified welterweight world champion, and his name is Jose Ramirez. The bout took place on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, and what a fight. Ramirez 25-0 17KOs stopped Maurice Hooker 26-1-3 17KOs in the sixth round of a very competitive contest.
Ramirez caught Hooker with a tremendous left hook, that sent him reeling onto unsteady legs. Hooker propped himself against the ropes for stability, but Ramirez wasted no time and jumped on his opponent with a relentless attack, leaving the referee no choice but to stop the fight when Hooker took a series of blows without answering back.
Ramirez now finds himself in the possession of the WBO and WBC versions of the title, and has hinted at his desire to unify all four titles before years-end, a task that may be made much easier with the proposed unification bout between the IBF world champion Josh Taylor and WBA world champion Regis Prograis in the final of the super six competition. Barring complications through injuries or a draw, it would only take one fight to make boxing's next undisputed champ.
