Winning Taylor fight could open up doors for hall of fame for me in future - Jose Ramirez
Beating Josh Taylor on Saturday night means more to Jose Ramirez than remaining undefeated and adding two more 140-pound championships to his collection.
The 28-year-old Ramirez can become the first fully unified champion of Mexican descent in any division during boxing’s four-belt era. The proud Mexican-American also feels winning this career-defining fight should strengthen his legacy to the point it would warrant consideration for the International Boxing Hall of Fame when he retires.
Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Avenal, California, and Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs), of Prestonpans, Scotland, will fight for Ramirez’s WBC and WBO belts and Taylor’s IBF and WBA championships. Their 12-round main event will be broadcast by ESPN from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
“This is a fight that’s gonna bring a lot of glory to myself, to my family,” Ramirez said during a conference call Tuesday. “And it’s gonna make me the first Mexican fighter, [of] Mexican descent, Mexican-American fighter, to become undisputed world champion in the history of boxing. So, this is a historical fight for me as well. You know, this could open up the doors for the Hall of Fame for me in the future.
“You know, this is something that will put me in the books as one of the best to ever put on some boxing gloves, you know? This is a big fight for me and it’s a fight that not only brings glory to the Mexican people in Mexico, but also to all the hardworking immigrants in the United States, as I’m a proud immigrant myself.”
The biggest win of Ramirez’s career thus far is his sixth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten WBO champ Maurice Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs) in their title unification bout in July 2019 at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. He has made four defenses of the WBC crown he won in March 2018, when Ramirez out-pointed Amir Imam (22-3, 19 KOs) to take the then-vacant championship at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater.
Handicappers have established Taylor as more than a 2-1 favorite over Ramirez, who hasn’t lost in nearly nine years. The winner will join Terence Crawford as the only fully unified champions in the history of the 140-pound division.
Ramirez-Taylor will headline a three-bout broadcast on ESPN.
Jose Zepeda (33-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC), a 140-pound contender from La Puente, California, is scheduled to face Philadelphia’s Hank Lundy (31-8-1, 14 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature. Elvis Rodriguez (11-0-1, 10 KOs), a junior welterweight prospect from the Dominican Republic, is set to square off against Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. (15-2-1, 5 KOs) in the eight-round opener of ESPN’s telecast, which will start at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
Source: Boxing Scene