Beacon of Light, Sunderland – Junior middleweight contender Josh Kelly (15-1-1, 8 KOs), who is ranked at number one by the WBO, spent no time in knocked out Placido Ramirez (24-4, 17 KOs) in the third round.
The once-beaten Brit is in line for a mandatory shot at WBO world champion Tim Tszyu.
Kelly entered the fight on a four fight win streak since suffering a stoppage loss at the hands of David Avanesyan in February of 2021.
Ramirez, who spent the majority of his career fighting at welterweight and below, entered the ring one fight removed from a controversial bout with Denis Nurja, which took place last month in Albania. The contest became a no-decision in the fourth round when fans entered the ring and hit Ramirez.
Once the fight began, Kelly quickly established his jab and was throwing the much quicker punches. In the second, Kelly began to connect with fast combinations that were pushing Ramirez back. Ramirez wasn’t very active with his output, electing to wait for openings to pick his spots.
In the third, Kelly was in full control as Ramirez was being defensive. Kelly found an opening on the inside with a combination of punches – punctuated by a right uppercut – and sent Ramirez down for the full count of ten.