GRADES: DEVIN HANEY, REGIS PROGRAIS, RAFAEL ESPINOZA, ROBEISY RAMIREZ, CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

This was certainly a busy week, full of upsets, title-changes and some very close calls.

First, on Saturday, we had pound-for-pound star Devin Haney move up in weight and dismantle Regis Prograis for a portion of the 140 pound title. On that same day, underdog Rafael Espinoza upset now former titlist Robeisy Ramirez in 126 pound action, taking his title in the process.

Then, on Sunday, we had Cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith come from behind to stop Mateusz Masturnak, retaining his gold with a stoppage win.

All that and much more. So, without much more ado, let's hand out these Grades:

DEVIN HANEY
GRADE: A+
RESULT: DEF. REGIS PROGRAIS, 12UD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
Perhaps Regis Prograis is a bit faded, too slow-footed and rudimentary to trouble someone like Devin Haney. So? Not Haney's problem. He still went in there and made a 3-1 underdog look like a 10-1 underdog.

Haney was effectively punch-perfect on the night, landing crisp counters and even putting some real spite into his work. Prograis, from the first round onward, had no answer for Haney's -- what? -- second gear?

The only bad mark against Haney could be that he didn't go for the finish. Fair enough, I suppose. But I'm not knocking a guy that dominated a world titlist in his first bout at a new weight.
 

REGIS PROGRAIS
GRADE: D+
RESULT: LOSS TO DEVIN HANEY, 12UD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
Ironically enough, one could make the argument Regis Prograis last looked like the best version of himself against Josh Taylor, a fight which he lost by close decision back in 2019.

Since then, outside of a beat down of Jose Zepeda, Regis has really struggled to truly convince anyone that he's in fact the dude at 140 pounds. One could have imagined (like I imagined) that facing a perhaps chinny, smaller fighter in Devin Haney might have been the chance to set the record straight.

Well, in a sense, it did. For the record: Prograis has slow feet, isn't able to cut off the ring too well, and is likely way to far on the wrong side of his prime.

LIAM PARO
GRADE: A-
RESULT: DEF. MONTANA LOVE, 6TKO (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
Australia has been on a bit of an upswing as of late, with guys like Tim Tszyu and Sam Goodman making some serious waves. Liam Paro may be yet another fighter from down under moving towards the top.

After a break out performance against Brock Jarvis (in which he halted the favorite in a single round), Paro has continued his impressive run with a stoppage of the once-rising Montana Love.

Paro was patient, adapted to the countering style of Love, and went for the finish when he had his man hurt. Another solid contest and result for the Aussie.

MONTANA LOVE
GRADE: D-
RESULT: LOSS TO LIAM PARO, 6TKO (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
Montana Love just isn't the guy many imagined he could be a few years back.

It seems like since the start of his contract with DAZN, Love has found new and inventive ways to be lackluster. Whether earning a shaky decision over Gabriel Valenzuela, or being DQed against Steve Park, Love just hasn't found a way to put it all together.

Obviously, being stopped by Liam Paro hasn't helped his case.

While skilled and athletic, Love doesn't seem to have the temperament or the punch resistance to take things to the next level. Against Paro, that was on full display.

MIYO YOSHIDA
GRADE: A+
RESULT: DEF. EBANIE BRIDGES, 10UD (BANTAMWEIGHT)
Considering the short notice and the odds against Miyo Yoshida, you have to really give her credit for the win over now previous champion Ebanie Bridges.

And Yoshida didn't just come in and get a surprise knockout, or eek out a close decision. No, she just about dominated every minute of every round over the distance to earn the nod and the championship.

Yoshida isn't a perfect fighter, but that was a perfect performance considering the circumstances.

EBANIE BRIDGES
GRADE: D+
RESULT: LOSS TO MIYO YOSHIDA, 10UD (BANTAMWEIGHT)
Facing late replacements can be tough. You're preparing for one style, one fighter -- and now you're thrown something perhaps totally different. Still, that can only be a small excuse for Ebanie Bridges in her loss to Miyo Yoshida.

Bridges had no answer for anything Yoshida asked of her, and seemed a step (or three) behind for effectively the entire fight. Considering how one-sided the odds (Bridges was a 7-1 favorite), and the pre-fight expectations, it was a very poor performance from Bridges.

Small kudos for continuing to try and finishing the fight with some spirit.

ANDY CRUZ
GRADE: A+
RSSULT: DEF. JOVANNI STRAFFON, 3TKO (LIGHTWEIGHT)
Many presumed Andy Cruz would look good once turning pro. The Cuban amateur stand out was sure to look slick, skilled, and elusive. However, some had questions about how Cruz would truly adapt to the pro game, especially after a somewhat lackluster pro debut.

Well, those worries were at least somewhat put to rest against Jovanni Straffon.

Cruz was putting his shots together well, stepping into that power a bit better, and managed to stop a usually durable competitor in Straffon. Again, early days, but a very good performance considering the limited experience in the pro ranks.

RAFAEL ESPINOZA
GRADE: A
RESULT: DEF. ROBEISY RAMIREZ, 12MD (FEATHERWEIGHT)
Well, Rafael Espinoza is certainly going to win the Upset of the Weekend award, snatching the gold from the hard-hitting Robeisy Ramirez in a majority decision thriller. No disrespect to Miyo Yoshida (who was a sizeable underdog), but Espinoza was a 7.5-1 'dog heading into the bout.

The Mexican proved that those sort of numbers don't matter once the bell sounds. Espinoza started very well, overcame a knockdown, and edged out a very close call with a knockdown of his own in the final frame.

Maybe the performance of the weekend (OK, maybe that goes to Devin Haney). Still, a damn good fight and a deserved winner.

ROBEISY RAMIREZ
GRADE: C
RESULT: LOSS TO ROBEISY RAMIREZ, 12MD (FEATHERWEIGHT)
Robeisy Ramirez is a frustrating fighter.

The Cuban-bred fighter seems to have enough skills to make fights easy, and use his power to his advantage along the way. However, as shown against Rafael Espinoza, Ramirez relies so much on that power, that it actually hurts his game.

Ramirez loads up, looking to land that perfect shot that ends matters. Mostly, Robeisy finds that shot. Against an Espinoza that threw nearly three times the blows, Ramirez hoped for the punch that never materialized.

Bail out power doesn't always bail you out. And when it doesn't, you usually end up with a loss.

CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH
GRADE: C+
RESULT: DEF. MATEUSZ MASTERNAK, 8TKO (CRUISERWEIGHT)
Chris Billam-Smith really struggled to get going against what was to be a stay-busy opponent in Mateusz Masternak. In fact, you could argue he never really got going at all.

However, let that be a lesson to all fighters out there: Good things come when you continue to press forward and throw punches. Eventually, one of consequence might land.

In the seventh, CBS landed a thudding body shot that evidently injured Masternak's rib, and ultimately halted the action. It wasn't much, but it was enough to retain his title and keep it moving.

MATEUSZ MASTERNAK
GRADE: D-
RESULT: LOSS TO CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH, 8TKO (CRUISERWEIGHT)
So, Mateusz Masternak couldn't have asked for a better start against Chris Billam-Smith. The problem was how Masternak finished.

After using solid fundamentals and subtle movement to trouble CBS for the first handful of frames, Masternak was struck to the body and seemed to injure his ribs.

Masternak opted to retire in between rounds.

Now, 36 years of age and with six losses to his credit, Masternak might have bowed out of the fight in particular, as well as the top level of the sport in general.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

- RESULTS

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