Sunday Convo: Raymond Ford’s Victory Is Why Fans Love Boxing

All week, the hardcore fans and media pointed towards the Top Rank main event live from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY, as the fight to watch. The matchup was Otabek Kholmatov (12-1, 11 KOs) facing Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant WBA featherweight title. The oddsmakers had it slightly in favor of Kholmatov, but it couldn’t be more of a 50/50 fight, and those are the most intriguing. Fans witnessed just that, which made for a high-level, entertaining fight showcasing two fighters wanting the title badly.

Early in the fight, Ford touched Kholmatov with a stiff right jab, but at some moments, Kholmatov would land looping left hooks on Ford. The first half of the fight had Kholmatov as the aggressor, pushing the action while Ford would counterpunch his way out of danger. That mainly worked, but Kholmatov would land a big left hook in certain instances, and Ford would be visibly stunned. Both men had their moments, but it felt like Kholmatov controlled the fight until the second half began.

That’s when Ford became the aggressor and moved forward, making Kholmatov fight on the back foot. Although it would have been good for Ford to jab his way in, former junior lightweight champion, Jamel Herring reacted to that comment and posted on X, “Playing the psychological game walking Kholmatov down, but I hear you.” Ford was indeed playing the mind games the former champion Herring mentioned on X, and it was working. Kholmatov was almost taken back by the aggression and didn’t know how to react. Ford was landing big shots, but they weren’t in combination.

Kholmatov would wake up from his daydreaming and put it on Ford in the 11^th round, and he seemed to have all of the momentum going into the last round. As the final round was about to begin, Ford stood from his stool with a nasty gash under his left eye from a headbutt earlier in the fight and would do the unexpected. Ford ripped punches to the body and landed a right uppercut, which was the beginning of the end for Kholmatov. Although hit with some flurries afterward, Kholmatov fell to the ground, which the referee called a slip, but Ford jumped all over him when he got up. Ford landed a right hook that made Kholmatov turn his back slightly and dive into the ropes, which prompted the referee to stop the fight. By the rules, the ropes kept Kholmatov from falling, which made the knockdown the right call, but the referee saw a compromised fighter and stopped it immediately with just nine seconds remaining.

Ford, out of Camden, NJ, was awarded the 12th-round knockout victory and, more importantly, the WBA featherweight champion. He was filled with emotions as Ford was seconds away from losing the fight, according to the scorecards posted by Top Rank.

The fight was close, and some would argue that Kholmatov was slightly ahead, but deep down inside, Ford knew he needed something big, given he was not the “house fighter” for the event. Ford is signed to Matchroom Boxing, but Top Rank won the purse bid for the fight, hence why it hosted the event.

Speaking of Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn was smiling ear to ear after the fight since this was his first amateur signing in the U.S. to win a world title. It was a massive night for Ford and his family, who were in attendance. Ford made a lot of new fans last night, and he certainly earned it.

What’s next for Ford? It is likely a rematch with Kholmatov, but it will have to be later in the year as the gash underneath his eye was pretty deep and will require some time to heal. For now, he will enjoy the victory which he earned on Saturday night.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

See author's posts