Abel Ramos points to problems with his shoulders after split draw with Mario Barrios

Abel Ramos revealed after Friday’s split draw against Mario Barrios that he had issues with his shoulders going into the welterweight title match.

Ramos gave a good account of himself against Barrios, mounting a comeback and even bloodying his opponent in a keenly contested bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Both Ramos and Barrios recorded knockdowns, in the second and sixth rounds, respectively.

Pennsylvania’s Ramos, 33, described the bout as a great fight for the fans but disagreed when asked if he was satisfied with the decision of the judges.

“No, not at all man,” Ramos said. “Like we said, we promised there was no need to trash-talk each other – no need, man. When you get two Mexican warriors like us, you’re going to get action-packed, guaranteed.”

Ramos, 28-6-3 (22 KOs), is 2-3 in his past five bouts, including a fifth-round TKO win over Juan Ramon Guzman in April. Barrios, 29-2-1 (18 KOs), on the other hand, has been on a three-fight winning streak following consecutive defeats to Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Keith Thurman Jnr in June 2021 and February 2022.

According to Ramos, he came in stronger in the second half of the fight due to a strategy to study his opponent.

“I just knew I had to warm up for the fight,” he said. “I had trouble with my shoulders and the caps, so I had to warm up a little. But, man, he came out strong. You can tell he’s strong.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].