On the undercard of last night's Paul Williams/Erislandy Lara fight, Akifumi Shimoda was having a relatively easy time of it in his first-ever appearance on American soil. A fifth-round headbutt left his foe Rico Ramos's worried that the ref might tap him out on account of bleeding. Ramos knew this. So, what did he do?
"I had to go for him before they stop it. Go for that championship," he said, as Shimoda was still mentally regrouping after a seventh-round left hook dropped him silly. "He gotta go back to wherever he came from with a loss."
Here's the reality of the situation: one judge scored Shimoda as winning all six previous rounds, while the other two had it 5-1. Faced with those odds, some fold or clutch-and-run (see David Haye). But Ramos did what makes boxing — despite all its failings — great. He fucking went for broke.
As the seventh round was approaching the 10-seconds-left signal, Ramos threw five or six punches which, at best, barely connected. But as he tried to elude fists-to-face, Shimoda left his head sitting out there unguarded. That's the ultimate pugilism no-no. Ramos, eyes wide, connected with the 80th of 273 punches thrown up to that point. You could see Shimoda turn off instantly, eyes closed, mat-bound, Deebo'd. To his credit, Sugar instantly started fighting back up to his feet in a stumbling, unsuccessful effort to rejoin the festivities.
Now, Ramos is the WBA super-bantamweight champ. Because of one punch.
If you're in a hurry, start the video 2:35 in.
Rico Ramos Knocks Out Akifumi Shimoda, Wins Title [Boxing Scene]
One left hook gives Ramos the title [SuperSport]