LAS VEGAS – Keith Thurman calls it the beginning of another campaign, a second fight in an attempt to reclaim the welterweight perch he once called home, But that old home is already occupied. It belongs to Terence Crawford. In the spring, maybe the winner of the projected
Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas will move in.
For now, at least, Thurman is just a guy in line hoping for a chance to get the keys to the top of the 147-pound division.
He put himself back in that line Saturday night with his first fight in more than 30 months. He won a unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in Fox pay-per-view telecast at Mandalay Bay.
He was good. But not great.
“I give myself a C-plus, B-minus,’’ Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) said after winning a 118-110, 117-111, 118-110 victory.
That’s a grade that puts him in class behind Crawford and perhaps a few others. But Thurman, who calls himself One Time, says he’s in no hurry.
In Barrios, he was just looking to get back in the hunt.
He calls himself One Time. But he hasn’t been seen in a long time, or at least not since he lost a decision to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.
Thurman suggests he’s going to be seen often for at least the next 10 months.
“I’m looking forward to a better year in 2022,’’ he said. “I want the belts, I want all the champions, baby.’’
Only time will tell if in fact his one-sided victory over Barrios is the springboard to a showdown with Crawford or a fight with the Spence-Ugas winner.
Barrios was a fight that got him back in the ring. It also was his first real payday in more than two years.
Through the first five rounds, he looked a lot like the old Thurman. His feet moved relentlessly in a lateral dance that began to make Barrios look confused, if not downright dizzy.
Barrios, a former junior welterweight fighting at 147 pounds for the first time, left himself open. But some of Thurman’s power just wasn’t there. He missed the KO shots he would have landed five years ago.
It was kind of the fight I expected,’’ Barrios (26-2, 17 KOs) said. “He’s a great fighter.’’
But Barrios tested that perceived greatness in the later rounds when some of the energy in Thurman’s legs seemed drain way. A well-placed punch from Thurman opened a nasty cut above Barrios’ left eye in the eighth.
Barrios was hurt, yet also re-energized. He went at Thurman, rocking him with a left hand.
Suddenly, Thurman looked all of his 33 years, a little bit like a guy looking more for a retirement home than his old residence near or at the top of the welterweight division.
Leo Santa Cruz was looking for a tune-up. He got a test, instead.
Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs) fighting for the first time since he was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in October 2020, was forced to work 10 rounds Saturday by Keenan Carbajal (23-3-1, 15 KOs), a Phoenix fighter who many thought was way over his head in challenging one of the great featherweights of his generation.
Santa Cruz, a 12-to-1 favorite at opening bell, looked rusty early. He looked rusty late. In part, he was bothered by a nasty cut across his left eyelid, caused by a headbutt with the bigger Carbajal in the second round.On the scorecards, at least, Santa Cruz was never in peril in what the last fight before the the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios main event at Mandalay. He won by a shutout, 100-90 on all three cards. From round-to-round, he scoreed repeatedly with body shots and a relentless pursuit.
Carbajal, who was nearl;y three inches taller, never could use his height to to uncork a powerful uppercut.In the later rounds. He seemed to back as, is to say that. Santa Cruz’ body shots were having the intended effect.
Jesus Ramos wins sixth-round TKO
It was beginning to look like a long night for Arizona.
But that all changed, thanks to Jesus Ramos.
There would be no 0-for-AZ on a card that featured four Arizona fighters on the Fox pay-per-view telecast of a card featuring Keith-Thurman-Mario Barrios Saturday at Mandalay Bay.
Jesus Ramos (18-0, 15 KOs), of Casa Grande, stepped through the ropes after Phoenix junior-featherweight Carlos Castro lost a split decision to Luis Nery and brother Abel Ramos lost a unanimous decision to Luke Santamaria in a welterweight bout.
In what was an immediate slugest, Jesus Ramos’ power and poise prevailed. He stopped Vladimir Hernanadez (13-5, 6 KOs), of Mexico, with a big left followed by a beautifully-executed combination. It left Hernandez dazed and done, a TKO loser at 2:21 of the sixth round.
Luis Nery scores split decision over Carlos Castro
Carlos Castro entered the ring hoping to get his world-class credentials punched.
He left the ring without the credentials.
They didn’t get punched.
He did.
In a painful lesson Saturday night on the Fox pay-per-view telecast of the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios fight at Mandalay Bay Saturday, Castro (27-1, 12 KOs) was dealt a loss that could force him to re-set his goals. Luis Nery (32-1, 24 KOs), a former champion at two weights, beat him.
The loss itself was controversial. It was a split decision. Judge Tim Cheatham scored it 95-94 for Castro. Max DeLuca had it 95-94 and Steve Weisfeld 96-93, both for Nery. On the 15 Rounds card, it was 96-93 for Nery, who floored the Phoenix fighter in the opening seconds of the junior-featherweight bout.
Nery’s early salvo, a jab followed by concussive left, sent an early message. It set the tone for the next nine rounds. Castro appeared tentative. For about three rounds, he tried to stay away. He fought behind a cautious jab. By the fifth he appeared to regain his footing and much of his poise. He began to land sporadic shots against Nery. It appeared as though the Tijuana fighter was coasting to what he thought was an easy win. That might explain Cheatham’s scorecard.
But there was never a moment in the mid-to-late rounds when it looked as if Castro had enough power to gain the momentum or even keep the aggressive Nery off him. In the eighth and again in ninth, Nery drove Castro into the ropes and unleashed a succession of deadly punches, all of which left Castro with a collection of more questions than credentials.
Abel Ramos loses unanimous decision
Abel Ramos started fast. Faded fast, too.
Ramos, the first of four Arizona fighters on the Thurman-Barrios-featured card Saturday, couldn’t sustain his early pace and power, allowing Luke Santamaria to gain enough momentum to win a unanimous decision.at Mandalay Bay.
From A-to-Z, Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs), a welterweight from Casa Grande, looked to be the better fighter. In the opening moments, he landed a left that sent Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs), of Garden Grove CA, backpedaling across the ring. Ramos pursued, but couldn’t finish the job.
Slowly and almost deliberately, Santamaria fought his way back into the fight. By the middle wounds, he was beating Ramos to the punch. By the ninth and 10th, he was in control .Of the ring.
And the scorecards (96-94, 98-92, 96.94)
Mexican welterweight Omar Juarez wins split-decision
It was close. Controversial, too. In the end, it belonged to Omar Juarez, a welterweight from Brownsville TX.
Juarez (13-1, 5 KOs) prevailed after about an hour-long intermission on the card featuring Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios at Mandalay Bay. Correction. Let’s say he survived, overcoming a point penalty for throwing an elbow and repeated power shots straight down the middle from fellow Texan Ryan Karl (19-4, 12 KOs), a cowboy from Milano.
Karl got rocked repeatedly from looping counters. He also came back from a deep wound above his left. Blood, brighter than his red hair, poured down his face and across chest. In the end, two scorecards favored Juarez, 95-94 and 96-93. The third card went to Karl, 95-94
Bloody cut forces quick end to junior-welterweight bout
A bloody cut, ruled to be the result of a punch instead of a head butt, brought a quick end to a junior-welterweight bout between Keith Hunter (14-1, 9 KOs) and Jesus Silveyra (10-7-2, 4 KOs) in the fourth fight on the Thurman-Barrios card.
Hunter, of Las Vegas, got the victory at 1:42 of the first round. Blood poured from the wound and into Silveyra’s left eye. The ringside physician ruled that it would have affected the Mexican’s vision. Referee Russell Mora ruled that a punch caused the injury.
Junior-welterweights fight to debatable draw
Enriko Gogokhia (14-0-1, 8 KOs), a junior-welterweight from The Republic of Georgia, scored two knockdowns, but that wasn’t enough for the judges scoring the third bout on the Thurman-Barrios card.. Gogokhia wound up with a split draw after a back-and-forth eight rounds with elusive Kent Cruz (16-0-2, 10 KOs), a St. Louis fighter who was dropped twice in the fifth round by short right hands.
Fernando Vargas Jr. flashes dad’s old power for TKO win
Fernando Vargas was back in the Vegas arena where he lost to Oscar De Hoya nearly 20 years ago. The place hasn’t changed much.
But Vargas left it as a winner this time.
His son, junior-middleweight Fernando Vargas Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs), dominated, flashing some of dad’s old power en-route to a third TKO victory. With his dad in his corner, Vargas Junior scored two knockdowns, flooring Kody Kobowski (2-1, 2 KOs, of Ventura CA, in the first and again in the third in the second bout on the Thurman-Barrios card at Mandalay Bay. That’s where De La Hoya knocked out Vargas Sr. in a memorable fight on Sept. 14, 2002.
First Bell: Welterweight Joba Rincon opens the show, wins unanimous decision
It’s early. It’s empty. But it’s underway.
Joba Rincon (6-0, 2 KOs), a welterweight from Corpus Christi TX, fired the first salvos, landing most of them for a unanimous decision over Mexican Ramon Marquez (4-1, 4 KOs) in an afternoon matinee in front of empty seats in the first bout on a card featuring Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios Saturday at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob-Ultra Arena
