By Brian Webber: Former WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez says he wants Teofimo Lopez next on March 25th if he’s willing to face him.
Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) recently turned down a guaranteed title shot against WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis because he was unhappy with the 65-35 purse split, and he’s taken much heat from boxing fans for turning down the shot.
Ramirez wants the big four
Had Ramirez beaten Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs), it would have meant more money for him as the WBC light welterweight champion to use to encourage the big four – Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney & Ryan Garcia.
Without the WBC title, the 30-year-old Ramirez is viewed as a guy that was soundly beaten by Josh Taylor last year and who ducked Prograis twice.
Teofimo (18-1, 13 KOs) hasn’t mentioned wanting to fight Ramirez lately, and it’s understandable why. Teo wants to fight for belts against Josh Taylor or Prograis, which makes facing the belt-less Ramirez pointless, especially after his poor performances in his last three fights against Jose Pedraza, Taylor, and Viktor Postol.
“There’s Teofimo [Lopez], and if Teofimo is looking at ‘Hey, man, are you ready to fight on March 25? I’ve got a date. If you’re ready for April, we’ll find a new date, and we could fight in NY if you want,'” Jose Ramirez said to DAZN News about who he wants to fight next after rejecting a title shot against the formidable WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis.
Top Rank feeding Ramirez old guys
What’s patently obvious is that Top Rank will need to do something with Ramirez because he’s in the same boat as Teofimo as far as going downhill. Ramirez will reportedly be fighting 35-year-old Richard Commey next in March, a contest that the boxing public won’t be interested in seeing.
Top Rank can’t artificially extend Ramirez’s career by feeding him old guys like Pedraza and Commey.
If Ramirez can’t cut the mustard against the best, which is the case, Top Rank needs to trim him from their promotional stable along with the fading Teofimo. Ramirez should have two defeats on his resume, not one, because he was outboxed by Jose Zepeda and given a controversial 12 round majority decision in 2019 while fighting in his home city of Fresno, California.
“I think fighting Haney, or Teofimo will do more for my career, for what they bring to the table, and for the exposure,” said Ramirez about being more interested in fighting those two than facing WBO 140-lb champion Josh Taylor in a rematch.
“Devin Haney, Teofimo, and Ryan Garcia, or Tank, it’s always those four guys. But they don’t fight; they just use each other’s names. I feel like I’m the one who can and will destroy their plans,” said Ramirez.