Boxing Coverage on Sherdog.comPBC on ESPN Undercard: Julio Ceja Overcomes Knockdown to Stop Hugo Ruiz
Julio Ceja looked beaten. His senses, like his feet below him, were
temporarily gone. And Hugo Ruiz wasn’t letting up in the third
round between the super bantamweight contenders at the Staples
Center Saturday night. Ceja escaped and two rounds later, he was in
stalking mode, this time downing and finishing Ruiz at 2:34 of the
fifth.
After a few rounds of feeling each other out, Ruiz and Ceja got busy on the PBC on ESPN co-main event. Ceja, the shorter of the two tiny Mexican terrors, was constantly trying to get on the inside, but Ruiz’ jab and movement prevented it early.
Ruiz jabbed and countered Ceja when he needed to, and though each
of the first few rounds were competitive, Ruiz was in total
control. His control turned into near domination in the third,
where he almost stopped Ceja.
A near-perfect counter left hook over a lazy right hand dropped Ceja late in the third. Julio quickly sprung back up to his feet, but he stumbled back, clearly reeling. Ruiz didn’t pounce immediately when the fight resumed, but he did land a few stinging rights and lefts at the bell.
He might be regretting that decision now.
Ruiz was passive in the fourth, though he was still maintaining control of the pace. He was following the same blueprint the following round, but eventually the sometimes wild left hand from Ceja found its mark and when it did, the end was near.
After missing with two leaping left hooks, Ceja continued his attack and drilled Ruiz with a picture-perfect bomb to the jaw. Ruiz crumbled onto his back and barely beat referee Raul Caiz’ count. When he was allowed to continue, unlike Ruiz, Ceja unloaded a maelstrom of punches from every angle.
Ruiz (35-3, 31 KOs) sagged into the ropes, barely able to defend himself. After a few more shots landed on his chin and belly, Ruiz stumbled into the corner where he had to be rescued by the veteran third man. The official time of the stoppage was 2:34 of the fifth, giving Ceja (30-1, 27 KOs) arguably his biggest win.
Unbeaten lightweight bomber Alejandro Luna was too much for late-replacement Sergio Lopez to handle and the Californian eventually torched his foe in the fourth of the televised swing bout. After rocking Mexico’s Lopez with a terrific right/left to the head, he closed out at 34 seconds into the fourth, allowing Luna to rise to 19-0 with his 14th knockout. Lopez fell to 19-9-1 (13).
After a few rounds of feeling each other out, Ruiz and Ceja got busy on the PBC on ESPN co-main event. Ceja, the shorter of the two tiny Mexican terrors, was constantly trying to get on the inside, but Ruiz’ jab and movement prevented it early.
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A near-perfect counter left hook over a lazy right hand dropped Ceja late in the third. Julio quickly sprung back up to his feet, but he stumbled back, clearly reeling. Ruiz didn’t pounce immediately when the fight resumed, but he did land a few stinging rights and lefts at the bell.
He might be regretting that decision now.
Ruiz was passive in the fourth, though he was still maintaining control of the pace. He was following the same blueprint the following round, but eventually the sometimes wild left hand from Ceja found its mark and when it did, the end was near.
After missing with two leaping left hooks, Ceja continued his attack and drilled Ruiz with a picture-perfect bomb to the jaw. Ruiz crumbled onto his back and barely beat referee Raul Caiz’ count. When he was allowed to continue, unlike Ruiz, Ceja unloaded a maelstrom of punches from every angle.
Ruiz (35-3, 31 KOs) sagged into the ropes, barely able to defend himself. After a few more shots landed on his chin and belly, Ruiz stumbled into the corner where he had to be rescued by the veteran third man. The official time of the stoppage was 2:34 of the fifth, giving Ceja (30-1, 27 KOs) arguably his biggest win.
Unbeaten lightweight bomber Alejandro Luna was too much for late-replacement Sergio Lopez to handle and the Californian eventually torched his foe in the fourth of the televised swing bout. After rocking Mexico’s Lopez with a terrific right/left to the head, he closed out at 34 seconds into the fourth, allowing Luna to rise to 19-0 with his 14th knockout. Lopez fell to 19-9-1 (13).
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