NEW YORK, NY — If there were any nerves, Charles Conwell hid them well. He walked into his dressing room in the bowels of Barclays Center on Saturday afternoon with an easy demeanor, as calm as he could be. If he were any more relaxed, he would have been asleep.
It had been 16 months, going back to November 26, 2022, since Conwell, the former U.S. Olympian, was in the ring throwing fists for money.
On Saturday night, on the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia undercard at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, Conwell (19-0, 14 knockouts) snapped his inactive spell with a sixth-round stoppage over tough veteran Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs).
It took some time for Conwell to find a rhythm, but when it arrived, it came in torrents.
“I feel good,” Conwell said. “It was the coming back party. I thought he was a tough-game fighter. He came with a lot of experience, but I did what no other fighter has done. I stopped him in the sixth round. I don’t think any other fighter has beat him as bad as I did.
“He was a tough fighter and I appreciate him for taking the fight. We’re looking to get back in the ring asap, sometime in July or August. I’m back in the gym getting better. The ring rust is off. We’re ready for what’s next.”
In the third Conwell really opened up, slamming Gallimore to the body, and the head. But Gallimore came back to have a good fourth, landing a few uppercuts on Conwell.
In the fifth, Conwell, his left eye swollen, crowded Gallimore and had him against the ropes with 1:10 left in the round. Gallimore’s nose was bleeding, and he was on the retreat, with referee Arthur Mercante Jr. looking on closely.
Conwell opened the sixth leveling a heavy dose of uppercuts through Gallimore’s guard, when Mercante saw enough and ended it :52 of the sixth.
John “Scrappy” Ramirez who was carrying the flashy torch, with hair larger than himself, carrying the hype train, but it was David Jimenez who wound up winning on substance, taking the interim WBA interim junior bantamweight title by unanimous decision, winning 117-111 on two scorecards and 116-112 on the other.
“I am very happy to become a champion again. I want to thank Golden Boy for the opportunity,” said Jimenez, who outlanded Ramriez 191-142 on total punches. “I am ready to plan for what’s next. I felt great in the ring, and I felt like I was controlling the fight from the second round. Scrappy has a good punch and is a good boxer. Like all fighters, I want to become undisputed.”
Through six rounds, it was a fairly even fight. Ramirez began taking a page from what Jimenez had been doing early on, digging to the body. Neither fighter was willing to give way.
Jimenez was punching with more volume, tapping Ramirez inside. He was outworking Ramirez, working the body and the head.
In the ninth, the two literally butted foreheads, leaning on each other, as they slammed inside. Referee Benji Esteves was getting a work out of his own, constantly separating the fighters.
As the 10th opened, Jimenez went into attack mode again, ripping shots into Ramirez’s sides. Jimenez kept coming forward and Ramirez kept taking shots. Scrappy’s face was cut up, Jimenez looked clean going into the championship rounds.
Between the 10th and 11th, Ramirez’s corner implored him to close strong, though there seemed no concern whether or not he was losing.
With 1:39 left in the last round, Jimenez popped Ramirez with an uppercut, and a cut opened on Ramirez’s right eyebrow, possibly by a headbutt, though the opening left blotches of blood on Jimenez’s cheek. While Ramirez’s corner pushed for the big close, it was Jimenez who closed strong.
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