Arizona boxer Elijah Garcia fight ends in controversy; Casa Grande's Jesus Ramos Jr. wins

Two of Arizona's top professional boxers left Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas victorious in their respective fights Saturday night, with one result highly controversial.

Elijah Garcia, who trains on the west side of the Phoenix area and fights out of the unincorporated community of Wittmann, was awarded a split decision victory over Terrell Gausha in the opener of the main card. Garcia, 21, was knocked down by a combination from Gausha in the first round, the first time he's ever been knocked down in his pro career, and didn't score a knockdown of his own over 10 rounds.

Garcia rallied from the moment to keep the fight close in the eyes of the judges, even though Gausha, who is 16 years older and battled tested in a long career, looked to be the better fighter overall throughout the fight.

Still, Garcia ended the fight well and landed some shots in the later rounds. After 10 rounds it went to the judges' scorecards.

To the shock of many viewers and the PBC commentators, Garcia was awarded a win and improved to 17-1.

The scorecards gave Garcia, a middleweight who came in with a well-respected new coach in Bob Santos, a 95-94, 94-95 and 96-93 edge.

Elijah Garcia with the split decision win! pic.twitter.com/MCP4OLoVze
— BoomerXMedia (@media_boom28218) March 23, 2025

"People can think what they want. I came to fight a (former) Olympian who'd only lost to world champions, and I won," Garcia said after the fight. "He was able to do some things he wanted, but I took over as time went on and those who think I lost, well, I won.

'I don't control what the judges decide, my work is inside the ring." Garcia added. "I controlled the majority of the fight."

Elijah Garcia defeats Terrell Gausha by split decision

Despite being dropped in the 1st round and being out landed 189 to 154 (Compubox), Garcia is awarded the victory.#FundoraBooker

pic.twitter.com/UtHJTf8H7n
— Sal Arteaga (@sal__arteaga) March 23, 2025

After Garcia's fight, Casa Grande's Jesús "Mono" Ramos Jr. stopped late replacement opponent Guido Emmanuel Schramm of Argentina in the seventh round, after an entire bout of landed body shots and power punches that broke down Schramm.

Ramos was supposed to fight Kevin Salgado, a higher-ranked contender at super welterweight. But Salgado pulled out of the fight a few weeks ago and Schramm answered the call for a late replacement.

Jesus Ramos jr gets the Technical Knockout in the 7th round 🥊 pic.twitter.com/KTqQzBRzBP
— Unbiasedbox2 (@Unbiasedbox2) March 23, 2025

Ramos, 24, improved to 23-1 and may have put himself in position to fight for a super welterweight title. His hope, he'd said before Saturday, is to take on the WBC and WBO 154-pound champion, Sebastian Fundora, who won his title defense in the main event of the Premier Boxing Champions bouts on Prime Video right after Ramos defeated Schramm.

Ramos has won four consecutive fights. He fought Saturday about seven weeks after his last bout, and looked strong and sharp despite his planned quick turnaround from one fight to the next.

"I wanted to stop him earlier, but he's a warrior," Ramos said. "Everything was working, maybe too well. Then I hurt my hand and I pulled back a little. ... Ready for anything at 154 pounds."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2 of Arizona's top boxers win on the same card Saturday in Las Vegas

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Arizona boxer Elijah Garcia fight ends in controversy; Casa Grande's Jesus Ramos Jr. wins

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