Jamie Kavanagh vs Ramesis Gil

by Gautham Nagesh

WASHINGTON, DC–Lightweights Jamie Kavanaugh and Ramesis Gil fought to a six-round draw on the undercard of Saturday night’s Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson show at the Washington Convention Center. The consensus on press row was that the Irishman trained by Freddie Roach was fortunate to escape with his unbeaten record intact.

Kavanagh started slowly and got rocked by some big shots from the Puerto Rican, who entered the fight with an unimpressive record of 6-3-4. But Gil has earned five out of his six wins by stoppage and he was unaffected by Kavanagh’s punches, barely blinking after being hit cleanly. Gil started strong but couldn’t sustain the pace, allowing Kavanagh to steal the even-numbered rounds despite his inability to sustain exchanges. 

When the pair did trade, Jamie appeared to get the worst of it. His low lead hand allowed the southpaw to counter with over the jab and the left uppercut/short hook to the body was available for Gil all evening. Kavanagh was cut over his right eye early and bleeding badly in the later rounds, forcing the ref to stop the fight so the ringside doc could take a look.

Jamie stood his ground better in the sixth to salvage the draw but he cannot afford such a lackadaisical approach if he wants to fulfill the considerable promise that Golden Boy and Roach see in him. As a light puncher he cannot afford such slow starts and was fortunate he did not lose this fight. He must get busier immediately or watch his potential go up in smoke.