There’s a new king atop the featherweight division. On Saturday, December 9, Rafael Espinoza upset Robeisy Ramirez to win the WBO Featherweight Championship. Judges Benoit Roussel and Scott Weisfeld delivered the following scores in Espinoza’s favor: 114-112 and 115-111. Meanwhile, Efrain Lebron scored the bout a 113-113 draw.
Espinoza entered the bout as a +650 underdog heading into what was billed as Ramirez’s homecoming bout. However, the betting odds did little to stop him as he seemingly won the first four rounds and rallied to knock down the now-former champion in the final round.
Ramirez entered the bout as a -1200 favorite who hadn’t lost since his pro debut in 2019. Unable to return to his homeland of Cuba, fighting Espinoza in South Florida was essentially set up to be a homecoming. After getting off to a slow start, he was able to knock down the challenger in the fifth round and establish control throughout the middle of the bout. However, he was unable to keep the momentum going into the championship rounds.
