Instead of Belt, Ramirez Gets Belted Again

For Antonio Ramirez, there was nothing magical about the third time.

Stymied in two previous title tries, the 26-year-old veteran again came up short--way short--in his attempt Wednesday night to wrest away the North American Boxing Organization featherweight championship from Jose Luis Noyola.

Before an estimated crowd of 500 in the Warner Center Marriott’s Grand Ballroom, Ramirez battled gamely, but lost a unanimous decision to the faster, sharper-punching and more fit reigning champion.

However, Noyola (16-0-1) failed to put Ramirez away after knocking him down in the first round.

Ramirez, who, like the champion, weighed in at the featherweight limit of 126 pounds, fell to 15-14-1.

The night’s second title fight, a heavyweight battle for the World Boxing Board’s Penta title between Justin Fortune (12-3-1, eight knockouts) of Australia and Cesar Rendon (8-4-1, seven KOs), was just getting underway at deadline for this edition.

In a six-round preliminary event, Rodney Jones stopped Floyd Weaver 2:39 into the fourth round of their junior middleweight fight.

Weaver, as is his routine, controlled the fight early, scoring with body shots while Jones measured him.

A few of Weaver’s punches appeared to land below the belt, prompting referee Raul Caiz to warn him twice for low blows in the first round, and finally to take a point away early in the third round.

Jones, a stylish southpaw, didn’t need any more help. Shortly after Caiz penalized Weaver, Jones picked up his pace, peppering his opponent with left jabs.

“I wanted to let him fight, my manager told me he always starts fast,” Jones said of Weaver. “I was waiting for him to start showing signs of weakness.”

Weaver started tiring early in the fourth round and Jones pounced.

“I started looking at his face, and he looked tired,” Jones said. “He wasn’t punching with the intensity he was in the early rounds.”

The punch that ended it was a left uppercut that literally lifted Weaver off his feet and onto his back, where he stayed for more than a minute.

Jones, who trains in Campo, Calif., has won three fights--all by knockout--at the Marriott since November. His record is 11-2 with six knockouts. He has won six in a row, including five by KO.

Weaver is 13-5-2.

Danny Lujan of Salinas won the night’s other six-round bout, taking a split decision over Carlos Rubio in a battle of junior welterweights.

Rubio, who knocked Lujan down with three seconds left in the opening round, out-pointed his opponent, 58-55, on one judge’s card, but was on the short end of a pair of 57-56 scores.

Lujan improved to 9-2-1. Rubio, who is 18 years old, fell to 11-3-2.

In a four-round bout, Danny Sheppard kept his record perfect, losing for the seventh consecutive time with a victory. Sheppard lost a unanimous decision to Rasso Ribusinovet in a matchup of cruiserweights.

Danny Perez won a unanimous four-round decision over O’Neil Reed in a junior welterweight bout.