NEW YORK — Jose Ramirez is aware what the implications are when he gets in the ring Friday night and meets Jose Pedraza at Fresno’s Save Mart Center in a 12-round Top Rank ESPN+ telecast. The winner of this junior welterweight bout will be in position for a world title opportunity.
Ramitez, (26-1- 17KO’s) has been here as a champion in the division. Last year when boxing slowly returned to normal the former unified champion lost the titles to Josh Taylor.
“My goal is to stay at the highest level of competition,”Ramirez said this week. “My goal is to become a world champion again. You have to fight the best to be ready for those fights. I don’t want any easy fights. I don’t want to be fighting fights that are going to be tuneup fights.”
And for sure this is not easy and a tuneup. Pedraza, (29-3,14 KOs), from Cidra, Puerto Rico is a two-division champion and looking to make that a three-time title holder in another weight class. He has won his last three fights after losing a decision to Jose Zepeda as a junior welterweight for the first time.
Ramirez lost the titles last May in Las Vegas to Taylor, a bout that went the 12-round distance via unanimous decision. That loss still stings and every fighter always looks for redemption which makes this one more interesting.
“That’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about throughout the whole training camp, pushing myself to learn from my mistakes and to become a world champion again,” he said. “ I feel hungry. I feel like the Jose Ramirez that got his opportunity in 2018 and became world champion for the first time. I just want it back. I want to go out there and perform my best and to showcase my talent in front of all the fans. It means a lot. I’m looking forward to it.”
He said all fighters can relate to a loss that stings. Some stick with it and want that redemption while others take their time and contemplate their next move. Ramirez begins that climb back Friday night.
“It shows that after taking that first loss you actually get a better team together because those that left were probably not helping you at all.” he said. “So those that stay with you are the ones showing loyalty and believing in you.”
It is also sort of a homecoming for Ramirez. The Mexican-American comes from a farming community of Avenal, an hour drive from Fresno. So he will have the hometown crowd also in his corner and that is always an advantage for a fighter in any situation.
“I was able to train with no pressure,” Ramirez said. “ I was able to train and be myself. The biggest thing that I learned from myself when I faced Josh Taylor is that the only person that can defeat me is my own self. I feel like that’s a fight that I lost. I don’t believe he beat me because he’s the better fighter. That fight I lost because I wasn’t at my best, mentally and physically. I learned to accept it, and I want to earn the shot at the titles with my actions. I hope to show the best of my abilities on Friday.”
The fight was pushed back because Pedraza had a bout with COVID-19. He is fully recovered and plans to eventually bring another championship to Puerto Rico. He has the skills to make this a compelling fight and is well aware that a loss could be that major setback.
“I definitely recovered a hundred percent,” he said. “If that wasn’t the case you wouldn’t be seeing me facing Jose Ramirez in this great fight. It would mean a lot becoming champion for a third time. It would put my name along with the legends of Puerto Rico, and it would mean a lot for the island, too.”
And about fighting in not so friendly territory? “I’m used to it. These are things that happen in boxing. I only believe in the hard work and the training that I did and in my ability.”
Ramirez vs. Pedraza headlines a stacked card that includes featherweight contender Joet Gonzalez (24-2, 14 KOs) against Jeo Santisima (21-3, 18 KOs) in a 10-rounder, the six-round heavyweight professional debut of U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. versus Allen Melson (6-3, 3 KOs), Gabriel Flores Jr. (20-1, 7 KOs) coming back in a 10-round junior lightweight matchup against Abraham Montoya (20-2-1, 14 KOs), and rising junior lightweight Karlos Balderas (11-1, 10 KOs) in a six-rounder versus Aelio Mesquita (20-6-1, 18 KOs).
Boxing Hall Of Fame
PRAYERS FOR A CHAMP: Wilfredo Gomez was a dominant and perhaps best fighter to come out of Puerto Rico and defended his WBC super bantamweight titles a consecutive seventeen times that earned distinction as “bazooka.” The Boxing Hall of Famer would win two more world titles and retired in 1989.
However news came out of San Juan this week with disturbing images regarding his health and psychological well being and that has impacted many fans and those who worked with Gomez in the boxing community.
Sources in San Juan reported, the 65-year old Gomez was removed from his residence and incoherent as he was stretched into an ambulance. Apparently he was sitting in a wheelchair with disturbing reports of living in inhumane conditions and was restricted from seeing family because of an individual that was living and taking care of him.
Late Thursday, reports from my sources in San Juan said that Gomez was responding but there is a major concern about his safety and regaining full strength towards a recovery after being admitted to a psychiatric facility.
We are cheering for the former champ who was the best at taking a punch and bouncing right back….
UGAS READY FOR SPENCE: WBC and IBF world champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. and WBA world champion Yordenis Ugas faced off for the first time Wednesday at a press conference to discuss their welterweight title unification clash that headlines a SHOWTIME PPV on Saturday, April 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
Image: Amanda Westcott/ Showtime
Spence vs. Ugas will be just the 12th unification fight in the rich history of the welterweight division and will see Spence fighting in front of his hometown crowd looking to add a third welterweight title and boost his standing as the world’s top welterweight. Fresh off of an upset victory over legendary eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, Ugas will seek another upset victory as he hopes to continue his remarkable run through the division.
Ugas is the first welterweight champion from Cuba and this could be a fight of the year candidate because it should live up to expectations. During the presser Ugas showed his passion and asked for a moment of prayer for those who have lost their lives and in harm’s way in Ukraine with emphasis and call for peace…
CANELO CONTINUES TO BE THE FACE: Canelo Alvarez continues to build his legacy as the face of boxing and this week his two fight deal became official with Matchroom Boxing and lucrative pay days with DAZN.
Alvarez returns to the DAZN streaming network and reunites with promoter Ed Hearn seeking to again become a light heavyweight champion also defending his undisputed four belt super middleweight titles in September. This of course is unprecedented in boxing, then again, he is a face of the sport and perhaps the best fighter to come out of Mexico.
Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol came face-to-face in San Diego to officially launch their clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday May 7, with Bivol defending his WBA World Light-Heavyweight title against the pound for pound king on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Saul Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol face off for the first time at the Sheraton Hotel in San Diego, California ahead of their May 7, 2022 bout. Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
The May 7 blockbuster will be available to subscribers around the world on DAZN, excluding Latin America and Mexico. In the U.S. & Canada, the event will be offered exclusively on DAZN Pay-Per View (PPV) – newly introduced for very select events to come – and priced at $59.99 for current subscribers and $79.99 for new subscribers (inclusive of a one-month subscription to DAZN).
Then in September as part of the two fight deal, and if everything goes to expectations, it will be Canelo and Gennady Golovkin fighting for a third time for the titles at 168. That fight would finally end their long and bitter rivalry that resulted in a controversial draw and a win for Alvarez…
Mike Marley Was Boxing All The Time: I received the news late Wednesday afternoon about the passing of Michael Marley, “Mike” as we referred to him at ringside for many of the historic and not so significant fight cards in New York and other venues. The past few years we lost contact because Mike could not attend the fights having succumbed to illness and at 72 years of age battled his fight at home up in Cape Cod.
Yes, he was a fighter and so much a part of the boxing industry as an acclaimed writer of the sport, publicist for Hall of Fame promoter Don King, manager and adviser for prominent fighters, and went that extra mile to assist them in need of legal assistance.
Many also were aware, as I was over the years, Mike was a successful criminal defense attorney in New York. His award winning columns were a part of a 12-year legacy with the New York Post, and later with web sites that are now a dominant part of writing and reporting about the sport.
And Mike Marley was the old school writer that is hard to find today at ringside with an increasing trend of bloggers and vlogs that consume the industry more on a daily basis. He challenged the promoters, asked the tough questions, and it showed with those weekly boxing columns that were once a mainstay among the New York City tabloids.
So this is a tribute to a longtime friend. Mike Marley, an amateur fighter and originator of the Cassius Clay Fan Club (Muhammad Ali). A tribute and hopefully at the next fight will receive the customary 10-bell count for those who have passed on in the sport.
Rest In Peace and Keep punching my friend.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer at Latinosports.com. Comment: Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
