Former WBC/WBO gentle welterweight champion Jose Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) has surprisingly handed up a assured title shot in opposition to WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis.
The transfer places by the 30-year-old Ramirez now places the subsequent highest-ranked contender within the World Boxing Council’s high 10 rankings, Teofimo Lopez, within the scorching seat to take the combat in opposition to newly topped Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs).
When advised final week by ESPN commentator Bernardo Osuna that Ramirez shall be getting the primary crack at Prograis, Teofimo started bitterly complaining, saying that he was going to contact his promoter Bob Arum of Prime Rank as a result of he needs to be the one which challenged for the WBC title in opposition to Regis.
Now, if Teo was simply enjoying video games by feigning curiosity in going through Prograis in order that boxing followers don’t suppose he’s hen, that’ll be uncovered if he chooses to not take the combat with the WBC champion now Ramirez has rejected the combat.
If Teofimo turns down the combat in opposition to Prograis, as Ramirez simply did, the subsequent two contenders within the WBC’s rankings are Sandor Martin and Gary Antuanne Russell.
As for why Ramirez turned down the title combat in opposition to Prograis, ESPN says he needed a 50-50 cut up, not the 65/35 cut up in favor of Regis. After all, as dangerous as Ramirez seemed in his final two fights in opposition to Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor, his probabilities of shedding to Prograis can be very, very excessive.
In that case, even a 50-50 cut up wouldn’t be a superb deal for Ramirez as a result of he would lose anyway, and his profession can be on the point of catastrophe.
“I’m dissatisfied in that cut up,” former WBC/WBO 140-lb champion Jose Ramirez mentioned by way of ESPN. “This combat ought to positively be a 50-50 [split], and I used to be OK on taking 10% much less, however I can’t be preventing without spending a dime and threat an excessive amount of of a pay lower. Boxing is a troublesome sport, and we need to be certain we get valued.
“It is a enormous combat that’s not being promoted correctly. Hopefully, we are able to make the combat occur sooner or later after we each get compensated as we must always.”
If Ramirez doesn’t take the combat with Prograis, he is not going to preserve his excessive rating and can discover himself pushed all the way down to a decrease spot. If that occurs, he’s not going to get the cut up that’s hoping to get.
Once more, we don’t know if Ramirez is severe about that being his gripe or if he doesn’t really feel he’s as much as the duty of attempting to defeat Prograis, who arguably is the perfect fighter within the 140-lb division and has been for years.
Prograis’ solely profession loss was a questionable 12 spherical majority choice to British fighter Josh Taylor in London, England, in 2019. You may argue that if that combat passed off on impartial turf, Prograis wins going away.
Ramirez seemed horrible in his final combat, squeaking by Jose Pedraza by a 12 spherical final March. Jose Zepeda, Prograis’ current knockout sufferer, did a greater job of beating a youthful & brisker Pedraza by a ten spherical unanimous choice in 2019.
Ramirez shall be preventing subsequent in opposition to probably Richard Commey on March twenty fifth in Fresno, California. Now, that’s a winnable combat for Ramirez, however one which doesn’t do something for him. Commey, 35, has misplaced two out of his final 4 fights and is trying previous it at this stage in his profession.