Jose Ramirez idle yet busy Saturday night. He meets with fans, gets new fight date

World boxing champion Jose Ramirez met with fans instead of fighting Saturday night on an ESPN-televised card at the Save Mart Center.

It was his way of thanking them for their support even after his scheduled fight was called off.

Whether they’ll get to see his first title defense in Fresno is up in the air, but now it’s known when that fight will happen: Promoter Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank, said Ramirez’s next bout will be Friday, Sept. 14. The opponent and site are to be determined within the week.

Ramirez became a spectator Saturday when challenger Danny O’Connor bowed out of the scheduled 12-rounder for Ramirez’s WBC super lightweight world title. O’Connor, dehydrated from trying to make weight for the fight (the limit is 140 pounds), collapsed Friday at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fresno and was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. He has since been discharged. Arum said O’Connor “almost died” and called the boxer’s handlers “clowns.”

Ramirez said, “It’s a little disappointing because this is my career. This brings food to the table and to miss out on a big payday because my opponent being dehydrated... Just go back to the gym and get ready for Sept. 14.”

The Save Mart Center is available that day, so there’s hope for Ramirez’s central San Joaquin Valley fans.

“He’s going to headline the date,” Arum said. “We’ll be selecting an opponent in the next week and make the announcement, and hopefully we can bring that fight back to Fresno. Our matchmakers had a meeting (Saturday) and have a list of three to four names. Everyone on the list is a good fight for Jose.”

That will be a big sports weekend highlighted by two Sept. 15 dates: Fresno State football at UCLA and the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin boxing rematch in Las Vegas.

The fights went on Saturday without Ramirez in the ring. He encouraged fans to attend, anyways, and many listened. Attendance was announced as 10,333.

Ramirez released a statement Saturday morning: “Come out and support the event as we still have many great fighters and fights and the biggest platform in sports for our city. Come help me show how the Central Valley is united and not only supports boxing but its own.”

At the Save Mart Center, he added, “Thank you all to my fans and sponsors who continued to support, who didn’t let this throw them off and will continue to be supporting moving forward.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2018 at 10:04 AM.