It was an evening to remember for Albert Ramirez as he won the main event at IBA Champions’ Night La Guaira, marking his homecoming to Venezuela in his first professional match on home soil at El Domo Jose Maria Vargas.

Ramirez faced Germany’s Adam Deines in a 10-round contest for the WBA Light Heavyweight title.

Both boxers were cautious early on, but the third round is where Ramirez came alive. Deines frequently lowered his head, struggling to keep with the pressure of his foe, and by the time the third bell rang, the momentum looked safely with the home hero.

The writing looked to be on the wall when Deines slipped in the sixth round while darting backwards across the ring to avoid an onslaught from Ramirez. The German at this stage was simply in survival mode. The end came in the seventh, as a strong blow to the stomach brought Deines to a knee and he barely made it up for the count. Smelling blood, Ramirez did not relent and had Deines down for the second time within the same round, ending the match early.

Prior to this, Khuseyn Baysangurov from Russia became the new WBA International Welterweight champion after defeating Argentina’s Nicolas Jara over 10 rounds.

Baysangurov was on the front foot from the early stages, picking Jara off with punches with little reply. By the halfway point, the Argentine was noticeably laboured and was behind on points. A wake-up call came in the sixth round as he came charging out his corner and surprised the Russian with a few clear shots, but Baysangurov was back to controlling the match by the end of those three minutes. It was more of the same to the finish and the Russian was the comfortable winner.

One of Venezuela’s greatest boxers in recent history, the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Yoel Finol, was victorious in his 54kg bout with Alexis Alvarado from Mexico.

It was a scrappy start for Finol who was very active, but not very accurate in the opening rounds. Accuracy was not on the cards for Alvarado either – but mostly due to his opponent’s neat ducking and dodging. Although the early stages saw little success for either, eventually Finol’s incessant punching paid dividends. His dynamic style broke through the wall of Alvarado, who tasted success in pockets, taking advantage of the Venezuelan’s need to be more aggressive. It was pandemonium in the stands as Finol was named the winner.

On the undercard, Samuel Carmona kept his cool to defeat Romania’s Cosmin-Petre Girleanu of Romania in the 54kg division.

Girleanu, a very compact boxer, was not afraid to take it to the Spaniard, but this bout was a tale of the Romanian seeking significant offense, and Carmona remaining slippery throughout, dodging the oncoming attacks, before landing well on his own. The confidence of Carmona, in the face of adversity, reflected in the judge’s verdict as he had his arm raised at the end.

Compared to the high-intensity affairs in previous fights, Luis Arcon from Venezuela and Armenia’s Karen Tonakanyan were efficient and calculated in their 63.5kg bout.

Tonakanyan was more of the aggressor between the pair – hitting the home favourite with more punches, albeit many not as clean as he would have liked. In contrast, Arcon was seeking quality in doses and it paid off for him. He was named the victor by unanimous decision.

Ecuador’s Abel Mina claimed victory in the 75kg division against Shadiri Bwogi from Uganda. A slow start between the pair turned into an exciting contest, all coming from an accidental blow below the belt from Bwogi. Mina looked stunned and seemed to lose his composure in the following round, where he left himself open to a left hook from the Ugandan and took a stumble backwards. The Ecuadoran received a count of eight but continued. Despite the early fall onto the back foot, Mina was looking better in the final rounds and pursued the Ugandan. His activity was rewarded in the end, winning by unanimous decision – a verdict Bwogi disagreed with as he shook his head, believing he had done enough to score the win.

Keiber Gonzalez put in one of the best performances of the night in the 75kg division against Elias Espadas of Mexico, ensuring that all Venezuelans won tonight.

Gonzalez towered over Espadas in the contest, relying on his reach while the Mexican’s power was his advantage. Despite being more susceptible to checks to the chin due to his height, it was Gonzalez who excelled with the uppercut. The second round was the beginning of the offensive campaign – as he slowly softened up Espadas, tiring out his foe.

By the midway point, Gonzalez was leaving his corner and laying in blow after blow, with Espadas having little power to do anything but soak up the pain. The Mexican was resilient, but the winner was clear – Gonzalez had his arm raised.

In the opening match, Gonzalez’s compatriot Ender Luces defeated Tigran Uzlian from Russia in the 63.5kg weight category.

Uzlian picked up the aggression in the second round, forcing Luces to retreat. When he regained his composure, he returned the favour to the Russian, having success through the guard. Luces enjoyed the fifth round, where he brought Uzlian to the same ropes he was pressed again a couple of rounds before. He looked energetic into the last round as Uzlian’s energy look spent. He confidently floated around the ring in the final moments celebrating his impending unanimous decision victory.

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