By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO/WBC Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California will be putting his belts on the line against undefeated WBA World and IBF Super Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor of Scotland. Taylor last fought in September when he stopped mandatory challenger Apinun Khongsong in the first round. Ramirez last saw action in August when he edged Viktor Postol by majority decision. The 12-round tilt from Las Vegas can be seen live in America on ESPN+ and ESPN while those in the UK can catch the action on the FITE network and Canadians can see it on TSN 2.
The 28-year-old Ramirez won the vacant WBC crown with a unanimous decision over Amir Imam in March, 2018 and defended it for the first time with a unanimous decision over Antonio Orozco before beating Jose Zepeda by majority decision and taking down Maurice Hooker in six to add the WBO title. He then met Postol last year. Ramirez enters the contest with a perfect mark of 26-0 with 17 Kos. He turned pro back in 2012 and has boxed 127 rounds since then.
Ramirez stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 72-inch reach. He has quite a bit of pop in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 65.4 per cent and also possesses a pretty solid chin. He enjoyed a fine amateur career and represented the USA 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 as well as his world championship. As well as beating Postol, Hooker and Zepeda, Ramirez has also defeated Antonio Orozco, Amir Imam, Mike Reed, Issouf Kinda, Johnny Garcia, Jake Giuriceo, Robert Frankel, Ryusei Yoshida and Tomas Mendez.
The 30-year-old Taylor is a southpaw who added the WBA and WBC Diamond titles to his collection in October, 2019 in the World Boxing Super Series finale against Regis Prograis by majority decision. He beat Ivan Baranchyk by unanimous decision to win the IBF crown earlier in the tournament in May, 2019. He’ll enter the battle of unbeaten champions with a perfect mark of 17-0 with 13 Kos.
It’s evident Taylor also carries better-than-average power around with him as his current knockout ratio stands at 76.5 per cent. Taylor turned pro back in 2015 and has 91 rounds under his belt since then. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a wingspan of 69.5 inches which means he’s the same height as Ramirez but has a slight 2.5-inch reach disadvantage. His other impressive wins have been over Ryan Martin, Viktor Postol, Winston Campos, Miguel Vazquez and Ohara Davies.
The ‘Tartan Tornado’ Taylor has fought mainly in the UK with a couple of bouts in America. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 in the lightweight division and went 1-1 at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He then won a gold medal at the 2012 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He’s also been the Commonwealth Champion as a pro and Taylor has adapted well to the pro game and has surprised many opponents with his power and polished boxing skills.
Prediction…
Like Oscar Valdez, Ramirez always seems to find a way to win and it sometimes appears he fights to the level of his opposition, but doing just enough to succeed. He struggled somewhat against Zepeda and Postol but looked sensational against Hooker. Taylor has surprised some fans too with his wins over Baranchyk and Prograis. This is a fine matchup against two unbeaten champs and when this happens there really isn’t any outcome that should be considered a shock. It’s a pick’em fight but I’d say Taylor has slightly better skills overall and that could be the difference here.
