Robeisy Ramirez might’ve been able to win back the WBO featherweight title Saturday night.

The Cuban southpaw prioritized his long-term health, however, once he determined he would’ve risked permanent damage to his right eye had he continued during the sixth round of his rematch with Rafael Espinoza. Ramirez experienced double vision in his right eye, which made him turn away from Espinoza after taking a hard right hand to that area early in the sixth round of their main event at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Referee Chris Flores halted their 12-round championship bout just 12 seconds into the sixth round as Ramirez walked away from Espinoza.

“Look, what ended up happening is in the fourth round he hit me with a couple of elbows in the follow-through,” Ramirez explained to ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna in the ring. “I complained to the referee about it. He did his job, supposedly, and this happened.

“Look, I had to make a decision for my own health, if I’m not being protected. Look, I had double vision, and I had to make sure that I leave this ring with my health. You see that I’m OK, fortunately, but I just could not see out of my right eye.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist complained to trainer Ismael Salas about his inability to see following the fifth round. Salas still convinced him to leave his corner for the sixth round of a fight Ramirez was winning on two scorecards.

As soon as Espinoza landed the aforementioned right hand, Ramirez turned his back on his opponent, waved his left glove as a sign of submission and began to walk away from the action.

His forfeit surprised those who watched a co-feature ESPN+ streamed from the home arena of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns because he led through five rounds according to judges Tim Cheatham and Dennis O’Connell, both of whom had him in front by a single point, 48-47. Espinoza was winning by three points, 49-46, on the card of judge Zachary Young entering the sixth round.

The 30-year-old Ramirez nevertheless realized that his long-term health is much more important than winning back the WBO belt he held for eight months last year. Espinoza expressed that a TKO win for him was inevitable because his pressure and power were too much for the shorter, shiftier Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs).

“I landed a clean shot, that right hand, and he felt that power,” Espinoza said to Osuna. “I think he was feeling the power. He was starting to feel my pressure coming on, and I think the fight was turning in terms of the tide. [It] was coming in my favor. He was feeling my power and I think he knew what was coming next.”

Unlike their first fight, Espinoza got off to a slow start Saturday night. A sharp Ramirez won each of the first three rounds on the cards of Cheatham and O’Connell, both of whom scored the fourth and fifth rounds for the emerging Espinoza.

Young scored all but the first round for Espinoza, who improved to 26-0 and produced his 22nd knockout.

Ramirez, meanwhile, lost by knockout for the first time in five years as a pro.

His only previous losses were a 12-round, majority-decision defeat to Espinoza in their “Fight of the Year” candidate almost a year earlier to the day of their rematch in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and a stunning split-decision defeat to Denver’s Adan Gonzales in his pro debut. Ramirez responded to his close loss to Gonzales in August 2019 by beating him unanimously in their six-round rematch in July 2020.

The long, strong Espinoza – who at 6-foot-1 is unusually tall for a featherweight – was much more formidable in their second bout than Gonzales was versus Ramirez in their rematch. Ramirez’s defense prevented the champion from being as active in the first three rounds as he was when they first fought, but he generated more offense in the fourth and fifth rounds, which he won on all three scorecards.

Ramirez entered the ring a 16-1 favorite over Espinoza in December 2023. Espinoza proved quickly that he was a much more formidable foe than that by bothering Ramirez with pressure and activity and he built an early lead on the cards.

A resolute Ramirez rallied and dropped Espinoza with a right hook late in the fifth round. Espinoza recovered, however, made their fight very competitive over the ensuing seven rounds and landed a left-right combination that made Ramirez take a knee with 26 seconds to go in the 12th round.

Judges Benoit Roussel (114-112) and Steve Weisfeld (115-111) scored that fight for Espinoza. Judge Efrain Lebron scored Espinoza-Ramirez I a draw, 113-113.