Renowned trainer Bob Santos has ruled out a possible rematch between Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos, saying they’re looking in a different direction.
Santos, who trains WBC 147-pound champion Barrios, told BoxingScene that his camp believes they won the fight against Ramos last month, despite judges scoring it a split draw. The official scorecard read 112-114, 113-113, and 116-110 in a close championship fight.
In Santos’ view, the referee ruined the fight in the first round.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we won the fight,” the trainer said. “The judges saw what they saw but, in my mind, we won the fight. Ramos is a tough guy. In all his losses, if you look at it, for the most part, it’s always a majority decision or a split decision.
“Meaning, there’s always a judge who sees him winning the fight. So, all his losses are super close. He fights everybody very tough, very competitive. I thought we had the knockdown in the first round. It should have been ruled a knockdown.
“For whatever reason it wasn’t. They sent us to a neutral corner and to me, that was a big turning point in the fight because we hurt the guy in the first round. If you think his glove didn’t touch or whatever the case is, you’re not sure, you don’t jump in and send us to a neutral corner. If you do that, then you gotta start counting.”
Santos said Barrios of San Antonio, 29-2-1 (18 KOs), is focused on landing a fight with either legendary Manny Pacquiao or British fighter Conor Benn next. He believes Barrios’ performances at 147 should earn him a shot against either Pacquiao – who’s said to be considering a return from retirement – or highly-ranked Benn.
“I mean, obviously, we’re considering Pacquiao. We’re considering all our options. We’re looking at all the options just as anybody who’s a world champion would do. Whoever you’re a world champion, you’re gonna consider all your options and that’s what I’m saying.”
When asked if he thinks Ramos does not deserve a rematch with Barrios after his performance in their last outing, Santos said: “If Abel Ramos was in our position and he could fight Connor Benn or Manny Pacquiao, is he gonna be fighting Mario Barrios?
“I have a lot of respect for Ramos but, obviously, right now, Mario’s earned the right to be in a high-profile fight, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
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].
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