Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya’s signing of former WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez gives him a chess piece that he can use as a potential future opponent for Ryan Garcia.
Ramirez would be an excellent option for Ryan to fight if he wants to get quality experience before facing WBC light welterweight champion Devin Haney or Teofimo Lopez. De La Hoya had been hoping to match Ryan against Haney, but he’s chosen to focus on fighting Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
If Ryan can get the WBA belt, the 31-year-old Ramirez would be someone De La Hoya could offer him for his first title defense. De La Hoya is accumulating an impressive stable at 140 with these outstanding fighters:
– Arnold Barboza Jr.
– Ismael Barroso
– Ryan Garcia
– Jose Ramirez
Ramirez craves to return to the top
Surprisingly, the 2012 U.S. Olympian Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) left Top Rank recently. He reportedly had been offered fights against WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo Lopez and WBC champ Regis Prograis but didn’t take the matches.
Ramirez has won his last two fights against Richard Commey and Jose Pedraza after getting beat by Josh Taylor by a twelve-round unanimous decision in an undisputed 140-lb clash in 2021.
Taylor hasn’t looked the same since that fight, and some believe that the punishment that Ramirez inflicted on the Scottish fighter took the best out of him, leaving the shell that Jack Catterall and Teofimo Lopez worked over.
“An Olympic pedigree. An incredible resumé that features two world titles. A massive and loyal fan base — José Ramirez has it all, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Golden Boy family,” said De La Hoya. “Our plan for Ramirez is simple: get him back in the ring quickly, keep him active against the best of the best, and show the world that he is still among the cream of the crop in the super lightweight division.”
Eyes on Ryan Garcia
With the addition of Ramirez to Golden Boy, a natural fight to make is between him and Ryan Garcia at 140. Both fighters have a lot of fans and a fan-friendly fighting style, which would make for an appealing match-up on DAZN PPV.
Ryan would decide whether a fight against Ramirez takes place, but it’s excellent if he’s up for it. If Ryan is going to stay at 140, he’ll need to fight guys like Ramirez because there are not a lot of popular fighters in the division.
