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Jose Ramirez will be hoping to fight Josh Taylor or Terence Crawford after Viktor Postol victory

Jose Ramirez
Jose Carlos Ramirez vs Viktor Postol. Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

While hard-hitting heavyweight Daniel Dubois stole the show in the UK, there was plenty of Stateside action to keep the fans happy as various top-quality fighters threw down across the weight classes.

In Top Rank’s MGM Grand Bubble, Jose Ramirez edged out former champion Viktor Postol by a majority decision. Ramirez entered the ring as the unified WBC and WBO champion and was hoping for a victory to set up future matchups with the likes of Josh Taylor or Terence Crawford.

In the early going, Ramirez used a snappy lead left hook to try and take away Postol’s telephone pole left jab. The jab was a key weapon for the Ukrainian who utilised it well, creating distance and keeping Ramirez at bay for long spells.

Ramirez upped his activity levels through the middle rounds but he was missing shots and struggling to close range on the spidery veteran.

Postol was sent stumbling across the ring from a left hook in round seven. Ramirez’s youthful energy was taking over as the rounds flew by. One judge scored it all square at 114-114, overruled by a 115-113 and a wider 116-112. Ramirez moves on, while Postol, now 36 years old, can return at this level as a classy gatekeeper.

Meanwhile, over in the Microsoft Theater, Erislandy Lara defeated Greg Vendetti on points. This fight headlined the PBC’s latest offering but it was pretty much standard fare for the safety-first “American Dream” who sleep walked through the fight, rarely displaying his true skills.

Losing for the fourth time in his career, Massachusetts tough guy Vendetti never stopped trying to put the heat on Lara. The 30-year-old’s efforts were repeatedly in vain as Lara slipped in and out of range, landing sporadic jabs and left hands.

The Cuban exile -now comfortably based in Houston, Texas- held on to his portion of the ever-increasing number of WBA titles. Lara has shown in the past, against the likes of Jarrett Hurd and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, that he is a match for anyone. Hopefully a fight with the winner of the upcoming Jermell Charlo-Jeison Rosario fight can be made soon.

The road back to world glory might well be closed for Mexican warrior Alfredo Angulo who dropped a unanimous decision to unheralded Vladimir Hernandez on the Lara undercard. Spirited Hernandez was a late replacement for Caleb Truax who fell ill during the week. The portly southpaw entered with four losses on the ledger but pressed the fight for 10 rounds, landing solid shots and maintaining his work rate from first bell to last.

Angulo was once seen boxing against headliner Erislandy Lara and is too heavy at super-middleweight. All three judges scored it 98-92 in favour of Hernandez.