WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza and Robeisy Ramirez have failed to agree to a deal for their rematch. Top Rank will reportedly inform the WBO to let them know the status of the failed talks. As such, there will be a purse bid scheduled for October 11th.
Salvador Rodriguez is reporting the news of the failed Espinoza-Robeisy 2 negotiations. The two will now head to a purse bid.
The 6’1″ Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) dethroned WBO 126-lb champion Robeisy (14-2, 9 KOs) on December 9th last year, winning a 12 round majority decision in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The scores were 113-113, 114-112 and 115-111.
The two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy will need to find a way to deal with the huge height and reach of Espinoza in the rematch. At 5’6″, Robeisy is too short and doesn’t possess the punch output to defeat Espinoza in a close-quarters battle.
Where Robeisy had success was fighting on the outside, throwing hard single shots, and then escaping before getting caught by the looping shots from the long-armed Espinoza.
Espinoza’s height makes him a freak for the 126-lb division because there are no high-level fighters in the weight class with that kind of size. What makes Espinoza even more dangerous is his arsenal. He possesses a mean uppercut that he throws in close that he gets a lot of torque.
Robeisy’s best chance of winning the rematch against Espinoza is to knock him out. Ramirez, 30, had had Espinoza on the canvas in the fifth round but couldn’t put him away. Espinoza then came on late to dominate the championship rounds and knock Robeisy down in the 12th.
“Top Rank informed the WBO that it failed to reach an agreement between Rafael ‘Divino’ Espinoza and Robeisy ‘Tren’ Ramirez in a rematch for the featherweight championship. Thus, there will be a purse bid on October 11 with a minimum of 150 thousand dollars. Espinoza had an agreement with TR, but not Ramirez,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X.
Someone is going to figure out how to beat Espinoza sooner or later. If it’s not Robeisy in the rematch, eventually, there’s going to be a fighter with enough power to chop him down. Robeisy has the IQ and pedigree to get the job done, but he’s got to fight a lot smarter to win. He played to Espinoza’s strengths last time by brawling with him on the inside, and he got worked over.
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