By Dan Ambrose: Jose Ramirez has no interest in defending his WBA/WBO 140-pound titles against lightweights Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez because he feels neither of them could make it the whole rounds against Him.
Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) didn’t take the news of Ramirez predicting a knockout of him too well, as he said that that he would knock him out. Devin also stated that they had sparred together in the past, and he wants Ramirez to tell the fans what happened from that.
Ramirez wants the bigger money fights rather than getting stuck fighting young 135-pound fighters like Haney, who was given his WBC title through the e-mail by the World Boxing Council rather than earning it inside the ring.
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) says he’s only going to stick around the light welterweight division for two more fights in defending against his WBC mandatory Viktor Postol next, and then face IBF/WBA 140-lb champion Josh Taylor in a unification.
After that, Ramirez will be moving up to 147 to challenge WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who fights for the same promoter as him at Top Rank.
Ramirez NOT interested in Haney or Teofimo fights
“I think Terence Crawford will bring the best out of me than fighting a guy like Teofimo [Lopez] or Devin Haney,” said Jose Ramirez to SI Boxing with Chris Mannix.
“There’s some good 147s. I think there’s some good 135s that are thinking of moving up to 140, but I’m not interested in fighting those guys because I’ve got bigger challenges for myself,” said Ramirez.
“If I were to fight them [Haney & Teofimo] next, I don’t think they’d last 12 rounds with me. I can see myself fighting those guys in the future, but just not now,” said Ramirez.
Teofimo would be a handful for Ramirez because he can punch, and he’s lightning-fast and huge for a 135-pounder. Lopez is more like a welterweight than a lightweight, and he’d give Ramirez a lot to think about. Haney’s case, he’s weak, slow, and can’t punch at all.
The pressure style of fighting that the 27-year-old Ramirez possesses might be all wrong for the 21-year-old Haney as he fights using the Floyd Mayweather Jr. pot-shot style of fighting.
That’s a style that focuses on throwing single shots to try and impress the judges, but it’s one that makes fighters vulnerable against boxers that throw a lot of punches. That’s why guys like Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana gave Mayweather HUGE problems, and arguably beat him.
Haney has no choice but to use the Mayweather-esque style to fight because he can’t punch, and his hands are slow. If he tried to use a volume attack to beat his opposition, it could end badly for him.
Haney would get hit a lot more by guys that have higher power and hand speed than him. That’s why Haney is limited to using the boring pot-shot style of fighting that Mayweather employed during his career.
Haney reacts angrily to Jose Ramirez
“Ask him what happen when we sparred at the wildcard,” said Devin Haney said on his Twitter in reacting to Jose Ramirez saying he would stop him at 140. “I’ll f*** around & stop him. He gets hit too much,” said Haney.
Ramirez and Haney could eventually fight if Devin moves up to 147 in the future. It’s not going to happen at 147, as Ramirez is on his way out of that division, and Haney won’t move up in time to fight him.
Haney supposedly has one more fight at 135 before he moves up to 140, but he’s still not going to fight Ramirez after he moves up. Ramirez’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is cool to the idea of him opposing Haney. The way Bob is talking, we may never see Haney getting a chance to fight Ramirez.
It’s pointless for Haney to be always bringing up his old sparring stories when talking about different fighters because that doesn’t mean anything. Sparring is a lot different than fighting, and it’s confusing why Haney continues to talk about that kind of stuff when arguing that he’s better than different guys.
Haney is now more known for his mitt workouts with Mayweather than he is for his accomplishments in the ring. We’re seeing a lot of video workouts of Haney and Mayweather daily. While Haney looks good working mitts, it has no actual bearing fighting.
Any fighter would look good hitting mitts with Mayweather, but it doesn’t mean that they’re going to be a world-beater. It certainly doesn’t translate to Haney becoming the next Mayweather because he’s working out with him.
Ramirez to move up to 147 after two more fights
“I’ve been keeping my weight in the mid-150s, and I’m 155 right now,” said Jose Ramirez to SI Boxing. “I still feel good at making 140 for a couple of more fights, but once I get that Josh Taylor fight, there’s no reason for me to stay at 140.
“And I would love to move up to 147 and let my body develop naturally and adequately. I could see myself becoming a very strong 147-pounder. So, I hope to be undisputed and make some noise and be the next undisputed 140-pounder, making my way up to 147.
“I think that’ll be a much better look for me. After this fight [Viktor Postol], hopefully, Josh Taylor happens next,” said Ramirez.
Crawford will be a wrong style match-up for Ramirez, and this could end with him suffering his first career loss if he isn’t picked off before then. Hopefully, Ramirez has a good backup plan in case things don’t work out well for him at 147 against the likes of Crawford.
If Ramirez loses to Crawford, he’ll need to go in another direction towards one of the other champions in the weight class.
