Welterweight contender Jamal James gives fans in his hometown of Minneapolis an exciting victory over Abel Ramos in the main event of the first PBC on FS1 show of 2018.
James vs Ramos Highlights: April 13, 2018 - PBC on FS1
Jamal James wanted to put on a show in front of his hometown Minneapolis crowd Friday night on the FS1-televised card from The Armory. That desire put him in harm's way against Abel Ramos during their exciting 10-round welterweight main event.
James ended up coming away with a tight majority decision, prevailing 96-94 on two scorecards, with an even 95-95 third score. Though James seemed to outbox his Mexican-American foe, Ramos came on in the late rounds enough to leave the result up in the air at the end.
“I had to dig down tonight but I think it was a good fight for me to grind out,” said James. “I’m going to keep getting better and I hope to have a chance to display my talents at home again. I know if I keep working, I’m going to get a chance to prove myself against the best out there.”
James got off to a quick start, landing a couple of right hands that got the respect of Ramos right at the offset. The second round saw some fireworks. James landed a couple big right hands but then got caught by a big Ramos left hand that staggered him backwards a bit. The two traded shots the rest of the round with James landing more consistently.
James started to use his length a bit more in the third round. At a distance, James was the far superior technician. He rendered Ramos' offensive output pretty ineffective, only giving him a chance to do any real damage when James opened up on the inside.
By the middle rounds, Ramos began to suffer some swelling outside his left eye due to the overhand right that James landed continually. James also used head movement to avoid Ramos' attack when he took a break from punching.
James took his foot off the gas in round seven and Ramos had more success. Ramos gained some confidence and continued to press in the eighth round as James slowed his pace drastically. James turned things back in his favor with a big right hand in the closing 30 seconds of the round.
James had to hold off a 10th-round attack from Ramos but was able to do so. Though Ramos was outclassed early, he fought hard in the second half of the fight to steal a couple rounds on the scorecards.
“It feels so great to get this win in Minneapolis in front of all of my people here,” said James, “Ramos was a tough opponent who gave me a great challenge, but I was able to keep my composure and give the fans a win.”
It was a close fight that will serve as a valuable learning experience for the 29-year-old welterweight. There's no reason James couldn't serve as an interesting opponent for one of the bigger names at 147 pounds, and he's proven he can hang tough with the best of them.
Edner Cherry celebrates his UD win over Dennis Galarza (Brian Schroeder/Premier Boxing Champions)
Cherry earns close UD win over Galarza
The telecast also featured a spirited 10-round lightweight clash that saw Edner Cherry (37-7-2, 19 KOs) earn a close but unanimous decision over Dennis Galarza (16-3, 9 KOs).
Galarza controlled the early action with his jab and a powerful right hand that appeared to have Cherry stunned in the first round. His length advantage was key until Cherry was able to establish position on the inside.
Cherry began to land several powerful shots on Galarza with both hands in the middle rounds, backing Galarza up and taking away much of power on his shots. Galarza tried to back off and box Cherry more down the stretch, but was unable to avoid the oncoming Cherry as often as he needed.
After 10 rounds all three judges favored the work of Cherry by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.
Colbert defeats Dulay in battle of unbeaten lightweight prospects
In a battle of unbeaten prospects, Chris Colbert (8-0, 2 KOs) scored a TKO victory over Austin Dulay (11-1, 8 KOs) after seven rounds of lightweight action.
Colbert was first to the punch from the outset, landing straight right hands cleanly before flummoxing Dulay by switching to the southpaw stance. Colbert scored a knockdown in round six with a combo punctuated by a powerful body shot. After a dominant seventh round, referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight after checking on Dulay in his corner.
