Tiah-Mai Ayton Beats Catherine Tacone Ramos on Points in Nottingham

Tiah-Mai Ayton Beats Catherine Tacone Ramos on Points in Nottingham

Tiah-Mai Ayton was made to work for her fifth professional victory on Saturday night at the Nottingham Arena.

Catherine Tacone Ramos made Ayton work extremely hard for her win. The Brazilian was competitive throughout the super-bantamweight contest, and on my card, won three of the eight rounds. The scoring referee agreed with my assessment, giving Ayton the fight by a scorecard of 77-75.

I wrote in my pre-fight preview, ‘The odds of 1/80 on an Ayton victory are either somewhat removed from reality or indicative of the talent and potential of Tiah-Mai Ayton. Almost certainly, the latter.’ Like many, I got it wrong. A case of looking too far in one direction, and not looking deep enough into the resume of Ramos. The truth was somewhere in between.

The Brazilian was excellent, and hopefully, is booked again for a return visit. But she might be viewed as a little too good to be risked in the ‘away’ corner against a house prospect. I gave Ramos the 3rd, 4th, and 8th, and she came incredibly close to getting a draw with the hottest prospect in the sport.

Ayton seemed a little subdued in her post-fight interview, but she has no reason to be. Ayton had blitzed her previous four opponents in the pro ranks, but she would have learned plenty from her night’s work. Eight good learning rounds that will serve her extremely well going forward. Ayton was a little too easy to hit at times, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. The 19-year-old blue-chip prospect will be a much better fighter because of the eight rounds she shared with Catherine Tacone Ramos. The hype will lessen a little, and it might just allow her to grow as a fighter without the weight of being labelled the future of women’s boxing. In many ways, tonight will be of great benefit to her.

It was a tougher night than expected, but Ayton still impressed. She had to solve a few problems along the way and was made to work for her success. I thought Ayton was struggling a little at the halfway point. I had it even after four, with Ramos winning two rounds on the spin. But Ayton rallied in the 5th, her best round of the fight, and regained control over the next four minutes, before conceding the final round on my card.

The whole experience might be a little reality check, and a lesson that not everyone will fall over easily. But there was still plenty to like in her performance. The potential was still evident, maybe even more so. You can’t look like a million dollars in every fight, sometimes you just have to win. And she did. Some might criticise. They shouldn’t. Ayton is years away from her peak, and is still a frighteningly exciting prospect who will inevitably win world titles in multiple weight divisions.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing