Sugar Ramos


Ultiminio Ramos Zaqueira was a Cuban-born Mexican professional boxer who was better known as Sugar Ramos. Ramos fought out of Mexico where he was adopted as a national hero. He was an Undisputed Featherweight Champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Exile

Ramos won the Cuban featherweight championship belt in 1960 and defected to Mexico City when Fidel Castro came into power.

Famous bouts

In Mexico, Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos built his historical career. On 21 March 1963, Ramos had a bout scheduled at Dodger Stadium. On that day, Ramos severely beat Davey Moore. In the 10th round, Moore was knocked out. Four days later, Moore died from injuries sustained to his brain stem. This was similar to Ramos' twelfth professional fight in which José Blanco died from injuries sustained in the fight.
Ramos would defend his title three times including against Ghanaian challenger Floyd Robertson, via a controversial split decision victory.
Ramos lost his titles in 1964 to Vicente Saldivar after the fight was stopped in the twelfth round due to cuts. Ramos then moved up to lightweight, eventually earning a shot at then champion Carlos Ortiz in 1966. Ramos would lose the fight via fifth-round TKO, and then an immediate rematch by TKO in the fourth round.
He continued boxing until 1972.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
66LossCesar SindaTKO10 24 Apr 1972The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
65Win55–6–4Lyle RandolphTKO6 24 Mar 1971International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S
64Draw54–6–4Jimmy RobertsonPTS1014 Oct 1971Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
63Loss54–6–3Antonio AmayaPTS101 Oct 1971Plaza de Toros Monumental, Monterrey, Mexico
62Loss54–5–3Mando RamosSD106 Aug 1970Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
61Win54–4–3Raul RojasMD1026 Mar 1970Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
60Win53–4–3German GatelbondoKO1 14 Dec 1969Veracruz, Mexico
59Win52–4–3Chango CarmonaTKO7 29 Sep 1969Plaza de Toros El Toreo, Tijuana, Mexico
58Win51–4–3Rudy GonzalezKO2 29 Jun 1969Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico
57Loss50–4–3Carlos OrtizTKO4 1 Jul 1967Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoFor WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
56Loss50–3–3Carlos OrtizTKO5 22 Oct 1966Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, MexicoFor WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
55Win50–2–3Antonio HerreraUD1012 Feb 1966Plaza de Toros México, Mexico City, Mexico
54Win49–2–3Raul SorianoTKO2 11 Dec 1965Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
53Win48–2–3Raul SorianoTKO6 23 Aug 1965Plaza de Toros El Toreo, Tijuana, Mexico
52Win47–2–3Delfino RosalesTKO1 15 Jun 1965Plaza de Toros, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
51Win46–2–3Antonio RosalesUD1017 Apr 1965Arena Coliseo, Acapulco, Mexico
50Loss45–2–3Vicente SaldivarRTD12 26 Sep 1964Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, MexicoLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
49Win45–1–3Floyd RobertsonSD159 May 1964Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, GhanaRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
48Win44–1–3Mitsunori SekiTKO6 1 Mar 1964Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
47Win43–1–3Vicente Milan DeradoUD101 Jan 1964Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
46Win42–1–3Kid AnahuacTKO8 9 Nov 1963Los Mochis, Mexico
45Win41–1–3Sammy McSpaddenTKO2 22 Oct 1963Empire Pool, Wembley, England, U.K
44Win40–1–3Rafiu KingUD1513 Jul 1963Arena México, Mexico City, MexicoRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring featherweight titles
43Win39–1–3Davey MooreRTD10 21 Mar 1963Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Won WBA, The Ring, and inaugural WBC featherweight titles;
Moore dies two days later of a whiplash to his brain stem after his neck
struck the bottom rope of a three-rope ring during this bout.
42Win38–1–3Jose Luis CruzTKO2 29 Dec 1962Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
41Win37–1–3Eloy SanchezTKO3 20 Oct 1962Mexico City, Mexico
40Win36–1–3Baby VasquezKO10 3 Sep 1962Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Mexico
39Win35–1–3Baby VasquezPTS1014 Jul 1962Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico
38Win34–1–3Danny ValdezTKO7 11 May 1962Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
37Win33–1–3Rafiu KingPTS1026 Mar 1962Palais des Sports, Paris, France
36Win32–1–3Eddie GarciaTKO9 12 Jan 1962Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
35Loss31–1–3Rafael CamachoDQ4 13 Dec 1961Puebla, Mexico
34Win31–0–3Kid AnahuacPTS1030 Sep 1961Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Mexico
33Draw30–0–3Alfredo UrbinaPTS102 Sep 1961Mexico City, Mexico
32Win30–0–2Alfredo UrbinaSD1217 Jun 1961Mexico City, Mexico
31Win29–0–2Bobby CervantesKO4 27 May 1961Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Mexico
30Win28–0–2Felix CervantesKO3 8 May 1961Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Mexico
29Draw27–0–2Juan RamirezTD7 22 Apr 1961Mexico City, Mexico
28Win27–0–1Edwin SykesKO4 5 Feb 1961Estadio Juan D. Arosemena, Panama City, Panama
27Win26–0–1Jesus SantamariaTKO6 23 Jan 1961Estadio Juan D. Arosemena, Panama City, Panama
26Win25–0–1Sergio GomezKO9 30 Dec 1960Havana, Cuba
25Win24–0–1Jesus SantamariaTKO9 28 Aug 1960Arena de Colon, Colón, Panama
24Win23–0–1Tony PadronKO8 18 Aug 1960Coliseo Nacional, Havana, Cuba
23Win22–0–1Vernon LynchTKO7 28 May 1960Havana, Cuba
22Win21–0–1Tony PadronTKO8 1 Apr 1960Caracas, Venezuela
21Win20–0–1Orlando CastilloPTS1227 Feb 1960Havana, CubaWon vacant Cuban featherweight title
20Win19–0–1Francisco BarraezPTS1020 Nov 1959Matanzas, Cuba
19Draw18–0–1Ike ChestnutPTS1031 Oct 1959Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela
18Win18–0Johnny BeanKO3 1 Aug 1959Havana, Cuba
17Win17–0Sonny LeonPTS1029 Jul 1959Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela
16Win16–0Angel GuerreroKO4 9 May 1959Coliseo de la Ciudad, Havana, Cuba
15Win15–0Wally LivingstonTKO10 28 Apr 1959Havana, Cuba
14Win14–0Orlando CastilloKO10 14 Feb 1959Havana, Cuba
13Win13–0Antonio CoriaKO4 13 Dec 1958Havana, Cuba
12Win12–0Jose BlancoKO8 8 Nov 1958Havana, CubaBlanco dies of injuries sustained in this fight
11Win11–0Augo NarvalleDQ6 11 Oct 1958Havana, Cuba
10Win10–0Al CastilloKO5 20 Sep 1958Coliseo de la Ciudad, Havana, Cuba
9Win9–0Wilfredo GonzalezKO2 9 Aug 1958Cienfuegos, Cuba
8Win8–0Manuel PerdomoPTS619 Jul 1958Havana, Cuba
7Win7–0Hector MedinaKO3 5 Jul 1958Havana, Cuba
6Win6–0Humberto de la RosaKO4 24 May 1958Havana, Cuba
5Win5–0Felix PomaresKO2 12 Apr 1958Havana, Cuba
4Win4–0Carlos SuarezKO3 7 Feb 1958Ranchuelo, Cuba
3Win3–0Juan MachadoKO2 11 Jan 1958Arena Trejo, Havana, Cuba
2Win2–0Inocencio CartasTKO3 30 Nov 1957Palacio de Deportes, Havana, Cuba
1Win1–0Rene ArceTKO2 5 Oct 1957Palacio de Deportes, Havana, Cuba

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

The Ring featherweight champion

Regional/International titles

  • Cuban featherweight champion

Undisputed titles

Death

Sugar Ramos died at the age of 75 on 3 September 2017 in his adopted home of Mexico City due to complications from cancer. He was survived by his four children.