World boxing champ Jose Ramirez sets his future plans. Here’s when he returns to the ring
Jose Ramirez hopes the third try at his first world boxing titles defense in 2020 is the charm.
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) is set to defend his WBO and WBC super lightweight titles against Viktor Postol (31-2, 12 KOs) at the “bubble” in Las Vegas on Aug. 29.
The fight will be shown on ESPN.
It’s the third try at a Ramirez-Postol matchup.
The bout scheduled for February in China was called off because of the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
Three months later, the worsening COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. forced promoters to abandon plans for Ramirez’s fight with Postol at the Save Mart Center in Fresno that was set for May 9.
“It’s been a very difficult year, as we all know,” Ramirez said. “It’s a tough year for everyone and COVID has affected a lot of people.”
The Avenal native hasn’t fought since capturing the WBO title against Maurice Hooker in July 2019 in Arlington, Texas.
Ramirez said he feels comfortable that the upcoming fight will go on without any problems because Top Rank and Robert Garcia Boxing Academy (his trainer’s gym) are “taking precaution to keep the fighters safe.”
Undisputed title and previous plans for 2020
Ramirez had plans to fight three times in 2020, including possibly moving up to welterweight where the current champions are Manny Pacquiao (WBA), Errol Spence Jr. (WBC/IBF) and Terence Crawford (WBO).
But those plans were dashed because of the coronavirus.
Ramirez is still hoping he can get one more bout after August with an eye toward fighting for Josh Taylor’s WBA and IBF world titles.
“My goal is to unify the titles,” said Ramirez, who turns 28 on Aug. 12. “I want to become undisputed by the end of this year or beginning of 2021.”
If he does that, Ramirez will realize another goal as the first undisputed Hispanic champion in any weight class in the four-belt era.
He said the pandemic layoff put his plans back six months, but a move up to welterweight seems possible by summer 2021.
Expects a good fight
Before all that, there’s the matter of finally fighting Postol.
The 36-year-old Ukrainian once held the WBC title. He last fought in April 2019, winning by unanimous decision over Mohamed Mimoune.
The 5-foot-11 Postol (1 inch taller than Ramirez) also fought Taylor and Crawford, losing both bouts by unanimous decision. He has won two straight since his loss to Taylor.
“He has a lot of experience,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been studying his fights and he fights long. I know he’s going to make it difficult for me to close the distance because he’s a long fighter.
“We’re both going to be more than ready.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 6:22 PM.
