Mario Barrios D12 Abel Ramos ...  Mario “Azteca” Barrios managed to retain his WBC welterweight belt in his first defense, after drawing with Abel Ramos on the historic card starred by Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano II and Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was an exciting and bloody battle between two Mexican-Americans, but the skill level will not draw any comparisons to the great welterweights of the past.  Barrios started with ample dominance, pummeling Ramos in the first round and sending him to the canvas in the second. It seemed that he would have an easy first defense through the effective use of his jab and distance.

 

However, Ramos fought back hard in the sixth round when he sent Barrios to the canvas with a powerful series of right hands. Barrios bravely got up and both really went at it.  During the final round, Barrios had Ramos in trouble again, but he rallied to fight back. It would all end in a split draw with one judge scoring it 114-112 for Ramos, another 116-110 for Barrios while the third had it even 113-113. Barrios left the ring with a record of 29-2-1 with 18 KOs, while Ramos exited at 28-6-3 with 22 KOs. Both men's faces showed plenty of damage, and six months off would be a good idea for both of them.