Robeisy Ramirez was absolutely correct to accept defeat against Rafael Espinoza
On November 28th, 2020, undefeated heavyweight sensation Daniel Dubois ate his 98th jab of the night from Joe Joyce directly to his damaged left eye. Whether due to raw pain, an understanding that he risked permanent injury if he continued, or just a realization that he was no longer capable of defeating the humanoid hydraulic press that was “The Juggernaut,” he took a knee and waited out the count.
Commentators from all strata of armchairs immediately denounced this 6’5”, 240-pound tank of a man as soft. Billy Joe Saunders memorably dubbed him a “quitter,” only for Canelo Alvarez to pulp his orbital in similar fashion.
Now 27 years old, a fixture of the lucrative Saudi scene, and three months removed from toppling Anthony Joshua, Dubois is preparing for his second defense as IBF heavyweight champion.
Three days ago, two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez took a clean right cross from reigning WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza. He raised his hand as though politely asking a question, turned his back, and allowed the referee to wave it off without a word.
Joe Tessitore, Tim Bradley, and Mark Kriegel took it upon themselves to castigate “El Tren” for this most heinous affront to the sweet science, though they made sure to couch it in the weaseliest language imaginable. They weren’t in the ring, they didn’t know how Ramirez felt, but Ramirez quit. A “great fighter” wouldn’t do that. Why couldn’t Ramirez be more like Oscar Valdez, who memorably fought through a broken jaw to edge out Scott Quigg,
Then the wires got crossed and someone brought up the late Israel Vazquez. Meant to denigrate Ramirez by comparison, it in fact validated Ramirez’s decision. Vazquez infamously went blind in his right eye after suffering a detached retina in his legendary wars with Rafael Marquez, but a 2020 interview with Manouk Akopyan revealed the true extent of his struggles.
Although he’s still respected and admired for his wars in the ring, Vazquez’s job opportunities are limited, and his meager income has forced him to deal with difficult financial times.
His means of making money have been reduced because the boxing gym he would manage is no longer physically feasible, especially during a time when all non-essential businesses have stalled in California due to coronavirus. Vazquez periodically serves as a boxing analyst for World Class Boxing on LATV with his longtime friend Fernando Paramo, the CEO of the television series.
As a rule, most professions cultivate skills that can be applied elsewhere should a change in vocation be chosen or needed. Networking, inter-office communication, knowing your way around Microsoft Office, and the like are useful regardless of the industry. Boxing is one of the few that actively makes its participants less suited for any other occupation, and unlike other physically destructive sports like football, there’s no safety net.
Respect and admiration aren’t fungible.
Put yourself in Robeisy Ramirez’s shoes. Your opponent is seven inches taller than you and sports a six-inch reach advantage. Beating him is not a matter of guts or “wanting it more” or any other pablum that two-bit commentators use to fill empty air; it’s an exercise in precise execution. You’re fixing a watch that is actively trying to break your face.
Then he does break your face and now there’s two of him. You’ve been threading the needle for 10 minutes but now he’s yanked the thread out of your hands and replaced it with a camel. He’s taken your best shot and he doesn’t get tired.
What does staying in the fight accomplish? Victory is still possible, of course, but if you ran the numbers “Ramirez Knockout” would be a rounding error in a sea of “Espinoza TKO-X.” Combine Espinoza’s work rate with the number of remaining rounds and you’ve got somewhere in the vicinity of 700 more punches coming your way, each with a non-negligible chance to end your career.
And let’s not forget: Ramirez did not bow out when the injury first happened. He went back to his corner, revealed the damage to Ismael Salas, and agreed to go back out one more time to see if he could fight through it. He got hit, realized he couldn’t fight through it, and called it.
Robeisy Ramirez is only 30 years old. Espinoza, by his own admission, is likely moving to 130 to better accommodate his freakish frame. It’s unlikely that the WBO will let Ramirez jump right into a vacant title fight, but odds are he won’t fall far in the rankings, and with fellow Top Rank fixture Bruce Carrington in position to fight Arnold Khegai for the belt, the tracks will be there for “El Tren” to restart his climb.
Or he could chase Angelo Leo during his voluntary defense period should he get past Tomoki Kameda early next year. Or he could welcome Luis Alberto Lopez back to the ring if “El Venado” recovers from injury. Or, hell, Naoya Inoue likely isn’t headed to 126 until 2026; with the right matchmaking and some good performances from Ramirez, that fight is very much still possible.
Why throw that away in exchange for surviving an extra round or two before getting beaten into submission? Why trade your future so weirdos in comment sections can call you “brave” for a while before time sands down your attempt at heroism into just another stoppage loss on your record?
There’s living proof that Tim Bradley was full of it when he claimed that Ramirez’s career was “over.” He’s fighting Joseph Parker in February.
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