LAS VEGAS — Scotland’s Josh Taylor knocked down Jose Ramirez in the sixth and seventh rounds and unanimously outpointed him Saturday night to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion.
All three judges scored it 114-112.
Taylor’s big left counter cross to the jaw dropped Ramirez early in the sixth round and he used a destructive left uppercut in the seventh round. The second knockdown clearly dazed Ramirez, as referee Kenny Bayless had to ask him twice to step forward without stumbling.
Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs), who already held the WBA and IBF titles, is the first Scottish fighter to attain undisputed status after taking Ramirez’s WBC and WBO belts.
Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) had only been knocked down twice in his career previously.
It marked the second time the 140-pound title was unified. Terrence Crawford beat Julius Indongo with a third-round knockout the first time on Aug. 19, 2017.
Both are 2012 Olympians, as Ramirez represented the United States and Taylor represented Britain.
On the undercard, Jose Zepeda won a unanimous 10-round decision in his 10-round junior welterweight bout with Hank Lundy, scoring a 98-92 on all three scorecards.
In an eight-round junior welterweight tilt, Kenneth Sims Jr. won a majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez, 78-74, 78-74, 76-76.
