The pride of the Central Valley boxer Jose Ramirez defeated Antonio Orozco Sept. 15 to boost his undefeated record to 23-0.
In probably one of the toughest fights of his career, Ramirez knocked Orozco down once in the fourth round and then again in the eighth round, but Orozco got up both times and continue to fight. It was a fight that many in the industry are calling a strong candidate for fight of the year.
After 12 rounds of boxing, all three judges gave Ramirez the fight with a 119-107 score, and Ramirez retained his World Boxing Council junior welterweight title in front of his home crowd.
Ramirez will now look to see what his next step will be and what his promoter, Top Rank, and manager, Rick Mirigian, want him to do.
During the post-fight interview, Ramirez mentioned three names as his next possible opponents: Regis Prograis, Maurice Hooker and Alex Saucedo.
Prograis is the current WBC interim light-welterweight champion, but he is currently in a boxing tournament and the timeline might not be the best for the fight to actually happen soon. However, Ramirez said that whether Prograis wins or loses the tournament, he would still like to fight him and unify the title.
This has been a long-awaited fight in the division as both fighters are touted as the best in their weight class, and many believe that this fight can make or break their careers.
Hooker and Saucedo will face each other later this year for Hooker’s World Boxing Organization title, and the winner might be in as Ramirez’s next opponent. If a fight against either Hooker or Saucedo happens, it won’t be until next year which will have Ramirez inactive for a long time.
There are also others who might challenge Ramirez for a title shot, but unless it means a good business deal, those fights are less likely to happen.
Ramirez will also have to consider if moving up in weight can benefit his career, with bigger names like Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao in the next weight class up.
No matter what Ramirez chooses as his next step one thing is for sure, the Central Valley and his fans will be with him along the way.
