Two ex-champs lose on Zuffa show

Source: Zuffa Boxing

13/09/2026

Two ex-champs lose on Zuffa show

Alexis Rocha W12 Jose C. Ramirez... Former two-belt junior welterweight champion Jose Carlos Ramirez moved up to 147 pounds to take on welterweight contender Alexis Rocha, and it produced ten thrilling rounds of action, with Rocha emerging as the decision victor. Ramirez’s elite experience held sway throughout a well-contested matchup as he established himself in the early rounds. But Rocha raised his game and took the fight to Ramirez through mid-way point of the fight. A clash of heads in round nine left Rocha busted up and bleeding, and after being checked over by the doctor and deemed good to continue, he came storming back and appeared to drop Ramirez, who contested the knockdown. That set things up perfectly for the final round, and both men left everything in the ring as they battled to secure the victory. After the final bell, it was Rocha who earned the decision from the three ringside judges, who returned scores of 98-91 (twice) and 97-92.

Andres Cortes W10 Mark Magsayo... Las Vegas native Andres Cortes put on a superb performance, comprehensively outboxing former featherweight champion Mark Magsayo over ten rounds in a lightweight contest. Cortes (26-0) showcased his ability to fight from the outside, as well as up close, as he consistently outstruck Magsayo (29-3), who appeared to be hunting a one-shot knockout in the early rounds. Through the course of the matchup, Cortes forced Magsayo to touch down four times – in the third, in the fourth, and twice more in the seventh – but remarkably, none were officially recorded as knockdowns.

After seven rounds largely dominated by Cortes, Magsayo switched up his approach in round eight as he peppered his opponent with flashy, multi-punch combinations. And in the ninth, a big left hook in the final minute briefly seemed to wobble Cortes as Magsayo enjoyed his biggest success of the fight. But he was unable to capitalize on that moment as Cortes easily reached the end of the round, then boxed his way through to the final bell with no issues to earn a landslide unanimous decision victory, with scores of 97-93 across the board.
 
With the win, Cortes potentially set up a bout with another fomrer title holder, Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela.