Velez Shines Off Rust in Win

Photos courtesy of Sean Zamora, IT Boxing

Jayson Velez, 23-0-1 (16 KOs) was expected to rebound against a very game, Daniel “Huracan” Ramirez, 11-3 (5 KOs), Thursday night at LA Fight Club.

Velez is coming off a contreversial draw against Evgeny Gradovic, at the time an unbeaten featherweight from Russia. With a bounce back win, Velez' co promotors (Golden Boy and Cotto Promotions) look to secure him a title bout within a year or so.

The Puerto Rican fighter has been on record saying he would like a chance to face the top guys in the division. Whether it is against a Gary Russell, Vasyl Lomachenko, Leo Santa Cruz, or Nicholas Walters there are certainly options for Velez.

First he needs to get by a tough Mexican fighter looking to upset the boxing world. Low profile fighters can often be the toughest wins and very dangerous. Ramirez would improve his record to 12-2 with a win and have to be considered a top prospect in the division.

Immediately you could see the class difference between the two. Velez was more accurate with his punches. He moved in and out while Ramirez only moved straight forward. Velez crisp jab and body work really carried him through to victory.

On the other hand Ramirez' gameplan appeared to be to smother Velez with pressure and body shots. Although he had his moments and landed on Velez, it wasn't supremely effective. Thirty seconds into the 2nd round, Ramirez was dropped with two combinations to the head. I rewatched the fight and realized Velez' body work really setup these shots. Ramirez didn't keep his guard tight and combinations to the head landed. Velez' experience really showed early in the fight. It looked as if it would be an early night for Velez.

Ramirez recomposed himself quickly in the 2nd round and managed to stay busy to keep Velez off of him.

Ramirez adjusted to Velez' power as the fight wore on. He made it a slug fest which was really his only shot to win. This fight was great exposure for Ramirez in against a top-notch opponent. It is exactly this type of boxing that makes Golden Boy Promotions revolutionary. They're not trying to give their "big names" easy wins and this was a perfect example of that.

Velez had to work hard for this win. He might have been up on the scorecards but Ramirez was catching with a lot of punches throughout the fight. Against better competition he needs to tighten up that guard if he wants to be a featherweight champion.

One thing is for sure, the LA Fight crowd embraced both fighters. A heavily Mexican-American audience rooted for Ramirez in spurts. However, they enjoyed Velez' true boxing abilities and dancing between rounds. It was a great atmosphere for fight fans, and Velez did what he was supposed to do against a tough prospect.