Jhonson stays unbeaten

Junior middleweight prospect Yudel Jhonson kept his unbeaten record intact and scored his fourth consecutive knockout by stopping Juliano Ramos in the eighth round of an ESPN2-televised main event from Miami, Fla., on Friday.

Referee Telis Assimenios stopped the one-sided bout at 2:39 of the eighth round after Ramos absorbed a series of hard left hands.

Jhonson (7-0, 5 knockouts), a Cuban amateur standout who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, was too fast, fluid and powerful for the game but outclassed and undersized Ramos (16-4, 13 KOs).

The Brazilian journeyman had lost three of his previous five bouts going into the Friday Night Fights headliner at Fuchs Pavilion, including back-to-back stoppages to welterweight prospect Mike Jones and junior middleweight contender Kermit Cintron.

Jhonson, a 29-year-old southpaw who defected to the U.S. last year, may be off to a late start in the pro ranks but he appears to have the level of talent that will enable him to catch up to more established up-and-comers such as Jones by the end of the year.

In the co-featured bout of the FNF broadcast, Brad Solomon (12-0, 4 KOs) soundly outboxed Kenny Galarza (13-1, 13 KOs) over 10 rounds in a clash of undefeated welterweight prospects.

Solomon, a 27-year-old Georgian who started boxing late due to a prison stay, won by scores of 100-89 (twice) and 99-90. He controlled the distance and tempo of the bout with footwork and faster hands, continually beating Galarza to the punch with combinations.

Galarza, an amateur standout from Puerto Rico, could not deal with Solomon's constant movement, and his vaunted power appeared to wane over the second half of the bout.