Mario Barrios vs Abel Ramos Preview November 15th, 2024
Former WBA Super Lightweight Champion and current WBC Welterweight Beltholder Mario Barrios of San Antonio, Texas will be defending his crown against Abel Ramos of Gettysberg, Pennsylvania this Friday, November 15th. The 12-rounder from Arlington, Texas is on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson affair and can be seen live in most nations on Netflix. Barrios defended the interim belt with a unanimous decision over Fabian Andres Maidana of Argentina in his last outing in May. He won that title in September, 2023 via a wide unanimous nod over former world champion Yordenis Ugas. Ramos last boxed in April when he stopped Juan Ramon Guzman in the fifth round.
Barrios vs Ramos Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Abel Ramos +700
- Mario Barrios -1250
My Pick
The 29-year-old Barrios enters the ring with a mark of 29-2 with 18 Ko’s. He turned pro in 2013 following his amateur career and has 186 rounds of experience under his belt. He won the vacant WBA Super Lightweight Crown in September, 2019 when he beat Batyr Akhmedov by unanimous decision after dropping him in the fourth and 12th rounds. He then stopped Ryan Karl in the sixth round in his first title defence and lost his belt to Gervonta Davis when he was stopped in the 11th round of a competitive bout in June, 2021.
Then just eight months later he suffered his second defeat when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to former world champion Keith Thurman. Barrios captured the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Welterweight Title in July, 2018 by stopping Jose Roman after eight rounds and in February, 2023 he halted Jovane Santiago in the eighth round to take the WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Crown. He’s listed as six-feet-tall with a 71-inch reach and carries good power in his hands as 62.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s stopped just one of his last five opponents.
Barrios hadn’t really taken on many legitimate top contenders until meeting Davis when he took a step up in class but he handled himself pretty well in that fight. He took a bit of a risk by moving up to welterweight to take on Thurman but did okay in that contest too. Barrios has also beaten the likes of Yardley Cruz, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Richard Zamora and Juan Jose Velasco. He also possesses good speed and will need to use his effective jab to have success against Ramos.
The 33-year-old Ramos is 28-6-2 with 22 Ko’s and has boxed 183 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011. He now fights out of Arizona and beat Jame Herring and George Rincon as an amateur while losing to Amir Imam. Ramos stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach so gives up three inches in height and two inches in reach to Barrios. As far as power goes, he has more than enough of it to cause damage as 78.6 per cent if his wins have come by stoppage including his last four. However, his overall record is 2-3 in his past five fights.
Ramos owns a so-so chin as he was stopped by Regis Prograis in the eighth round in 2015 for the vacant NABF Junior Super Lightweight Title. He was beaten by Ivan Baranchyk by 10-round unanimous decision in 2017 for the USBA Super Lightweight Title and was dropped a couple of times. He also dropped a 10-round majority decision to Jamal James in 2018 and split decision to Yodenis Ugas in a shot at the vacant WBA Welterweight Title in 2020. Ramos dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Luke Santamaria in 2022 in a shot at the vacant WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Title and a 12-round majority decision to Cody Crowley in 2023.
His draws were an eight-round affair with Maurice Hooker in 2014 and a six-round tilt with Levan Ghvamichava the same year. As we can see, when Ramos steps up in class he usually falls just short, other than his sixth-round stoppage of Omar Figueroa in May, 2021. His biggest wins have been against Figueroa, Bryant Perrella, Roberto Ramirez, Mario Hermosillo, Javier Mercado, Emanuel Robles, Francisco Santana and Jimmy Williams.
Prediction…
Barrios has the edge in height, and experience and has fought arguably tougher opposition while Ramos carries more power and natural aggression and would probably prefer to make it a bit of an ugly fight if possible. Barrios is also younger but as Ramos proved against Figueroa, he’s able to beat anybody when at his best. I’m looking forward to a hard-fought close fight and have a feeling that Barrios will have to be at his absolute best to pull out a win here as this fight should be a lot closer than the odds suggest.
A close fight with Barrios having the better overall boxing skills.
Play: Barrios -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
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Abel Ramos betting • Mario Barrios betting