By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO/WBC Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California will be defending his belts against Viktor Postol of Ukraine in Las Vegas this Saturday, August 29th. The 12 round bout can be seen live on ESPN+ in America. Ramirez last saw action in July, 2019 when he stopped Maurice Hooker in six rounds to add the WBO belt to his WBC title. Postol’s last fight was in April of 2019 when he beat Mohamed Mimoune via a 10-round unanimous decision.
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 then taking down Hooker. Ramirez enters the contest with a perfect mark of 25-0 with 17 Kos. He turned pro back in 2012 and has boxed 115 rounds since then. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 72.5-inch reach.
Ramirez has quite a bit of pop in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 68 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 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.
Postol’s a former WBC Junior Welterweight Champion who’s now 36 years old. He has a fine record of 31-2 with 12 Kos. His first defeat came in a title unification bout with Terence Crawford in July of 2016 when he dropped a unanimous decision. Postol had beaten Lucas Matthysse of Argentina for the vacant WBC title by a 10th-round stoppage in October, 2015. Postol is regarded as a fine boxer who throws his punches in bunches. He’s fought mainly in Ukraine and took a huge step up in class when he beat Matthysse.
His second defeat came at the hands of Josh Taylor in 2018 by unanimous decision in a shot at Taylor’s WBC Silver Super Lightweight Title. Postol originally made a name for himself in the U.S. back in May of 2014 when he beat Selcuk Aydin by outboxing him all night long and then stopping him in the 11th round. It was the first time Aydin never made it the distance in 28 contests. Postol proved that stoppage wasn’t a flash in the pan though with his stoppage of Matthysse, but then ran into one of the best when he met Crawford.
Postol’s power could be underrated as his current knockout ratio is just 36.4 per cent, but he has a relatively heavy punch. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a reach of 73.5 inches so has an inch advantage on Ramirez in both departments. He enjoyed an excellent amateur career with more than 300 bouts and is as technically as sound as they come. He possesses better-than-average defensive qualities and is quite mobile in the ring. Postol has boxed 264 rounds since turning pro in 2007. He’s also beaten Hank Lundy, DeMarcus Corley and Yvan Mendy.
Prediction…
Postol is a polished and experienced boxer who went the distance with Terence Crawford and stopped Lucas Matthysse but is now 36 years old. Ramirez struggled against Zepeda but looked sensational against Hooker. He has more power than Postol and will need to utilize his speed and relentless punching style to pound out a victory. Postol should put up a good fight but Ramirez should defend his titles.
