Lopez gets decision over Ramirez

1:23 AM ET

CARSON, Calif. — Southern California featherweight prospects Julian Ramirez and Abraham Lopez, both undefeated, were looking to make the leap to young contender when they squared off in the plum spot on the Francisco Vargas-Orlando Salido card of an HBO-televised co-feature on Saturday at the StubHub Center.

When their action-packed fight was over, it was Lopez who had taken that step, by virtue of a unanimous decision win, though many at ringside had Ramirez, the nephew of the late junior lightweight world champion Genaro Hernandez, winning. All three judges scored it for Lopez, 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93.

Punch statsPunchesLopezRamirezLanded213241Thrown618665Percent35%36%– Courtesy of CompuBox

“It was a close fight, my respects for Julian. He definitely is a hard puncher,” Lopez said. “But I’m not hurt. I was able to counter the punches he came at me with. This victory opens doors for me. It moves me up to the next level in my career and gives me the opportunities to fight for a world title. I’m glad I listen to my corner. That’s what ultimately helped get the victory tonight.”

The two let the leather fly throughout the fight. Both landed power shots and marched forward in an exciting battle that went back and forth. The 28-year-old Lopez (21-0-1, 15 KOs), of La Puente, California, who has a degree to be a respiratory therapist, looked like the much bigger man after rehydrating following the weigh-in, and his punches seemed crisper as he tried to impose himself on Ramirez.

Ramirez, a 23-year-old southpaw from East Los Angeles who was trained by former bantamweight world titleholder Wayne McCullough for the first time, is a scrappy fighter, and he continually found a way to attack him on the inside to the head and body.

An accidental head-butt late in the sixth round opened a bloody cut over Ramirez’s right eye in the final seconds of the sixth round. The cut did not appear to bother Ramirez (16-1, 8 KOs), who …

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