Valley pro Jose Ramirez wins decision, moves to 17-0 in Vegas PPV bout

Standing on one of boxing’s biggest stages, Jose Ramirez made his pay-per-view debut. And in his first 10-rounder, no less.

But no matter how far he is stretched, Ramirez keeps proving he can go the distance as needed while showing no signs he intends to lose.

The pride of the central San Joaquin Valley used various combinations, jabs, quick footwork and head shots in scoring a unanimous decision over Manny Perez on Saturday in a super lightweight bout on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao/Timothy Bradley Jr. trilogy.

Judges scored it 97-93, 98-92, 99-91 as Ramirez retained the WBC Continental Americas title.

“This was the biggest win of my career,” Ramirez said. “Perez was short and he fought real low, so I had to use a hard jab, right hand and distance. This is such a great win. I will fight anyone at 140.”

In the PPV opener on the card at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Ramirez, 23, moved to 17-0 and went the distance for the fifth time.

“The fight was a great experience for Jose,” said Ramirez’s trainer, Marvin Somodio.

Ramirez was guaranteed $75,000, according to Top Rank chief Bob Arum.

His previous bout turned out to be a good tuneup for Ramirez, who in December against Johnny Garcia at Save Mart Center was extended to eight rounds for the second time. Going 10 didn’t seem matter to Ramirez, who also has 12 knockouts – seven in the first round.

“He was a tough fighter,” Ramirez said of Perez. “It was so hard for me to attack the body because of how short he is because I was afraid I was going to head-butt. It was extremely hard to work the inside.”

Ramirez learned plenty from the Garcia fight, a bout that saw the 2012 Olympian dropped to a knee for the first time – either as an amateur or in his three-year pro career. Ramirez still walked out of the Fresno arena that night with a unanimous decision.

And Saturday, at 138 fighting below 140 pounds for the first time as a pro, his education continued. Ramirez, per his style, was landing jabs but remained cautious of the head-butt risk. The 5-foot-7 Perez hung in, taking punches from the 5-10 Ramirez, but the challenger’s face was bloodied by the fourth round and blood continued to flow into the 10th.

“This makes me a better fighter and a more experienced fighter,” he said. “I think I was able to get my timing in the last round real good. It was difficult to say I lost a round. I felt like I controlled the pace and whole fight.”

Perez (25-12-1, 6 KOs) painted it slightly different.

“He has pretty good punching power,” the Denver fighter said. “But so does everybody else at this level. Nothing of what he connected hurt me.”

Ramirez already began to look ahead to his next bout, which manager/promoter Rick Mirigian announced Saturday would be July 9 at Tachi Palace in Lemoore.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Valley pro Jose Ramirez wins decision, moves to 17-0 in Vegas PPV bout."