By: Sean Crose

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas hosted boxing’s first big fight of 2023 on Saturday evening when it presented the supermiddleweight grudge match between former titlist David Benavidez and fellow former titlist Caleb Plant in a scheduled 12 round affair. With that in mind, there were several fights on the Showtime pay per view card set to go down before Benavidez and Plant entered the ring for the main event. First off, the 15-3-2 Abel Ramos battled the undefeated 21-0 Cody Crowley in a throwdown scheduled for 12.

Crowley put his height advantage and southpaw stance to good use in the first. Ramos went down from a slip near the end of the second. With that being said, both men fired away in close on the ropes throughout much of the round. Things remained exciting in the third, but the pressure employed by Crowley may have edged it for the Nevadan (by way of Canada). Ramos had to be warned for repeated low blows in the fourth. With that being said, the man still had a strong round.

Ramos landed some excellent shots early in the fifth. The man’s power was starting to show on Crowley’s face. Yet Crowley’s aggression in the sixth couldn’t be denied. There was no doubt that it was a close, tough, and interesting fight at the midway point. The seventh was more of the same – if by the same one meant a war of attrition. Ramos deserved a lot of credit in the eighth, for he would not let Crowley’s aggression simply bowl him over. With that in mind, Crowley leaned in on his man in the ninth.

The fight was largely off the ropes in the tenth, with each man firing from mid range. In the eleventh, the referee declared a beat up looking Crowley had gone down, as his glove had touched the mat. Crowly quickly got up, and it was ruled a “no knockdown” thanks to boxing’s relatively new instant replay rule. The twelfth and final round saw each rugged and exhausted combatant letting it all hang out in the middle of the ring.

The judges ended up ruling in favor of Crowley via majority decision.

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