"He showed he was the true champion. He was real tough. I showed I was a true champion by getting up. He caught me in the first round, I went down. Then, like the third round, he started to slow down. And then he hit me in the back of the head. I was dizzy. But the referee was like, 'You know, fight.' I wanted to take my time. But that's when he caught me with the body shot, and I fell."
This is a pretty feeble attempt (interviewer pushes a headbutt angle, too, but that's not on him - he's just doing his job) to explain things, but I'm going to be truly honest here: Rico Ramos is not a world-class fighter and nothing he did last night proved he was a "true champion." We're talking about a guy who landed 15 punches in six rounds. Fifteen punches in six rounds. He threw 114. He landed at a 13% clip. He was awful, and quite frankly, he's now got a deserved reputation as TV fight poison. Ramos is connected to Al Haymon, and I still don't know how anyone is getting this guy back on TV. Who on earth wants to watch him fight?
[ Related: Ramos vs Rigondeaux Full Fight Coverage ]
The Shimoda fight was terrible with a memorable left hook finish from Ramos. This fight was terrible with a memorable body shot finish from Rigondeaux. In neither fight did Ramos truly look like he belonged at this level.
A lot will have to change about Rico Ramos for him to get back to this standing. And I think it's going to be an uphill climb all the way.