Jose Ramirez checks off another milestone in his prolific boxing career
Jose Ramirez realized his goal of becoming a unified boxing champion Saturday night in dominating fashion.
The Avenal native finished off Maurice Hooker in the sixth round for a technical knockout to add the WBO super lightweight world championship to the WBC title he’s held for a year and a half.
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) had more on his mind after winning in Arlington, Texas, before the hometown crowd of Dallas’ Hooker.
“I dedicated this fight to my family because of the tragic stuff that is going on in boxing,” Ramirez said. “Those fighters losing their lives in the ring the last seven days. I was going in there with one mission and it’s to give it my best. I was here for one mission and it’s to make my family proud.”
Ramirez was referring to Maxim Dadashev who died Tuesday and Hugo Alfredo Santillán who died on Thursday. After the fight, Ramirez’s agent Rick Mirigian said the boxer was donating his trunks, gloves and shoes to auction toward a memorial fund for Dadashev’s family with a minimum bid of $30,000 that Ramirez will match.
Ramirez sent Hooker down in the first round, but Hooker came back and exchanged punches in the action-filled fight. Ramirez bloodied Hooker’s nose in the fourth round, but Ramirez hurt Hooker with a left hook in the sixth round that ended the fight.
Hooker (26-1-3) told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “He’s a champion for a reason. Tonight just wasn’t my night. He didn’t show me anything special, but I take my hat off to him. It was good (the referee) stopped it. I was hurt.”
Ramirez hadn’t finished off an opponent since 2017 when he defeated Mike Reed at the Save Mart Center. The champion said a little word of advice from trainer Robert Garcia made him remember what he can do in the ring.
“Robert told me you have a strong jab. The punches that hurt in boxing are the ones that are least expected. He told me, ‘Work on the jab and when you see him focus that’s when you become explosive.’ I did that against Mike Reed and I did it against Maurice Hooker. The same combination is what started everything to finish off the fight and it was the 1-2 jab and hook.”
Mirigian said Ramirez’s preparation and focus was key. “He’s his own worse critic. I’ve been with him since the amateurs and three times I saw that look in his eyes: Olympic Trials and Amir Imam (the boxer Ramirez defeated in March 2018 for the title) and the third was this. He gets up for these big fights.”
Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti hugged Ramirez for a while and told “I’m so proud of you.”
Moretti added: “He executed, and when you get him in a big fight like this, he’ll rise to the occasion.”
Said Top Rank boss Bob Arum: “What a victory. It shows what a fighter he is. He’s been improving since he’s been with Garcia and has been tremendous.”
What’s next isn’t clear, but there are still two other title-holders in the 140-pound division, Regis Prograis (WBA) and Josh Taylor (IBF). They’re slated to meet in the World Boxing Super Series finals, likely Oct. 5 in Great Britain. It would make sense that the winner of that fight would meet Ramirez.
The super lightweight class hasn’t had an undisputed champion since Terence Crawford in 2017.
This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 11:04 PM.
