By Ian S Palmer
The vacant WBC Super Lightweight Championship will be on the line at the theater in Madison Square Garden this Saturday, March 17th as unbeaten Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California takes on Amir Imam of Albany, New York. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. On ESPN and ESPN Deportes, libe in the UK and Ireland on BoxNation and on tape delay at midnight in Canada on TSN 2. Ramirez last fought in November when he stopped the previously unbeaten Mike Reed in the second round while Imam’s last fight took place in May when Johnny Garcia failed to answer the bell for the fifth round.
The 25-year-old Ramirez enters the contest with a perfect mark of 21-0 along with 16 Kos. He turned pro back in 2012 and has boxed 73 rounds since then. Garcia stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 72.5-inch reach. He’s got quite a bit of pop in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 76 per cent and also possesses a pretty solid chin. Ramirez had a fine amateur career and represented the U.S. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England where he went 1-1.
Ramirez also faced Vasyl Lomachenko at the 2011 World Championships in Azerbaijan and was beaten 16-9 on points. Since turning pro he’s won the NABF Junior Welterweight Title as well as a couple of other regional belts. Ramirez hasn’t really faced any top contenders as of yet with his biggest wins being over Mike Reed, Issouf Kinda, Johnny Garcia, Jake Giuriceo, Robert Frankel, Ryusei Yoshida and Tomas Mendez.
Imam is 27 years old and has been beaten just once with an impressive record of 21-1 along with 18 Kos to his name. He’s the same height as Ramirez at 5-foot-10 and has a slight 1.5-inch edge in reach at 74 inches. He has 81 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2011. Imam also has better-than-average power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 82 per cent. His chin may not be as solid as Garcia’s though since his only career loss was an eighth-round stoppage at the hands of Adrian Granados in November of 2015.
Granados was a solid opponent and Imam has also faced off against Walter Castillo, Wilfredo Acuna, Fernando Angulo, Fidel Maldonado Jr., Santo Benavides, Yordenis Ugas, Jared Robinson and Jeremy Bryan. He hasn’t really faced a top contender either other than Granados, so Imam and Ramirez more or less have the same experience when it comes to their pro opposition. Imam also had a good amateur career, but lost twice to Errol Spence Jr. and once to Geroge Rincon while beating Samuel Vasquez. Imam has captured the WBA-NABA USA Super Lightweight Title and WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Title as a pro.
Prediction…
This is an evenly-matched bout, but neither are big names in boxing as of yet and it’s debatable if they’ve earned a shot at a world title. Still, they both have power so it should be an exciting and competitive Saint Patrick’s Day tilt. Ramirez is more aggressive and wouldn’t mind brawling Imam instead of boxing him. Imam will try to use his boxing skills, but I think Ramirez will wear him down and take the vacant title with a stoppage being a possibility.
