Jesus Ramos took a big step forward in his career, dominating Joey Spencer in a matchup of undefeated junior middleweights at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The towel came in from the Spencer corner at the 1:25 mark of the seventh round, awarding Ramos (20-0, 16 knockouts) the biggest win of his young career. Spencer (16-1, 10 KOs) was not in imminent danger of being knocked out, but the decision was made by his father/trainer Jason Spencer to stop the fight one punch too soon instead of one too late.

While their records looked similar heading into the fight, the gulf in class was apparent early on, as Ramos dropped Spencer with a southpaw left in the first round. Spencer, who is one year older than Ramos at 23, had no answer defensively for the Ramos attack, other than to become more aggressive.

Another first-round knockdown 😱

What a left hook by @ramos_jesus9.#RamosSpencer | Order #BenavidezPlant https://t.co/BYO7umzWX0 pic.twitter.com/s633Xd1VYq

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) March 26, 2023

Ramos of Casa Grande, Ariz. gave Spencer opportunities to land punches of his own, but those shots never hurt him, and by the sixth round it was him who was walking Spencer down and looking for the stoppage.

“I felt like I looked real good. I showed some angles. After the first round knockdown, I got a little carried away with my power a little bit so I took some time to start working on everything that we practiced in the gym,” said Ramos.

Spencer, who has been fighting on Premier Boxing Champions cards since turning professional in 2018, says the early shock impacted him throughout the bout.

“I came out confident early and I got hit. I got caught. That knocked me off my game plan. I should have been able to bounce back but it is what it is. I just need to take a little rest and come back,” said Spencer.

Jesus Ramos says he entered the fight with a heavy heart, having witnessed his older brother Abel Ramos lose a majority decision to Cody Crowley in the opening bout of the Showtime pay-per-view broadcast, which is headlined by the David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant fight.

“Leading up to this fight I get more nervous for Abel’s fight than I do mine. So him having to lose in a tough fight that was very entertaining, it was heartbreaking. I’m disappointed that he has to go home with a loss but it was a great camp overall and nobody can take away our experiences and the memories that we lived through in the last couple weeks so I leave with a full heart that we did everything together,” said Ramos.