Robeisy Ramirez is ready to avenge his earlier loss in his rematch with WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza this Saturday, December 7th.
It’s important for two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy not to get drawn into a war like he did when he lost to the stork-like Mexican fighter Espinoza last December.
Rematch In Phoenix
Espinoza-Ramirez 2 will fight in the chief support spot on the Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2 card at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The event will be shown on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 ET.
That was a mistake because that was not his style of fighting when he’d been an amateur star in Cuba. He attempted to beat Espinoza at his own game but discovered he couldn’t do it. There are fighters in the 126-lb division that could perhaps out-brawl Espinoz, but Robeisy isn’t one of them.
Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) is motivated to prove his loss to the 6’1″ unbeaten Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) was just like a fluke when he lost a 12-round majority decision on December 9th of last year. Robeisy, 30, had his moments in that fight, looking like he was on course to knockout Rafael in the early rounds, but he got sloppy in the second half and was knocked down in round 12.
“Robeisy, when it comes to Cubans, you get the ones that are super disciplined and mature. Your Rigondeaux and your Erislandy Lara are consistent. They come to work,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Probox TV, talking about Robeisy Ramirez being inconsistent.
“All of them that come from Cuba can fight. Every single one of them. They have that ability. When they come to America, some of them remain that maturity. Lara and Rigondeaux come to mind; they’re consistent. Once you know how to fight like that, it’s consistency. Living right and training right.
“Robeisy reminds me a little bit of the less disciplined kind. A two-time Olympic gold medalist. He comes with the same big time push behind him as you do with all Cuban fighters that come that cross that border into the U.S. Then he lost his pro debut, and you wonder if this is the same guy that won two Olympic gold medals? What happened to him?”
Robeisy, 30, fought like he had taken the 6’1″ Espinoza lightly and assumed he could defeat him. Moreover, he didn’t understand how difficult Espinoza was to fight because he showed that he was effective on the inside as well as the outside.
It’s rare to see tall fighters that can fight effectively in close, but Espinoza showed that he’s even more dangerous on the inside. The uppercuts that he landed and the wide hooks made it a nightmare for Ramirez. The hooks were coming with a wide arc due to Espinoza’s long arms, making it nearly impossible for Ramirez to see them.
Robeisy Must Stay Composed
“Now, you have a fight where he was heavily favored. Don’t get me wrong. You don’t want to discredit Espinoza, but you have a fight where he’s heavily favored,” said Malignaggi. “He got drawn into this war kind of fight. Maybe he didn’t have to fight this kind of fight, and Espinoza was able to outlast him.”
Robeisy struggled from the first round with the height, reach, and high work rate of Espinoza. Rather than using and out style of landing potshots, Ramirez tried to outslug him. He looked like he got overconfident after knocking Espinoza down in the fifth, and kept focusing on trying to KO him rather than using his technical skills advantage.
“You wonder. He got his head back on straight the first time it happened [against Adam Gonzales on August 10, 2019],” said Malignagg about Ramirez. “If he got his head back on straight this time, is it a more tactical fight? Does Espinoza have a chance? You wonder where is Robeisy’s ceiling or are you ever going to see Robeisy’s ceiling? He’s very good when he’s on.
“Sometimes, you look at him like, ‘What happened to Robeisy? Who is this imposter?’ So, that’s something else that I’m wondering. If it turns into one of those things where it’s more tactical because the first time around, it was such a war. It’s hard to sometimes match that first war,” said Malignaggi.
It’s questionable whether Robeisy is training in between fights because he doesn’t look as lean as he did when he finished his amateur career. After defecting, he didn’t do much boxing until he turned professional in 2019.
“I called the rematch of Robeisy Ramirez’s first loss, and I’m like, ‘How did this guy lose?'” said Chris Algieri.
Ramirez made Adan Gonzales look like he didn’t belong in the same ring with him with his one-sided six-round unanimous decision in their rematch on July 2, 2020. Robeisy looked nothing like the fighter that Gonzales had beaten in his pro debut. If he fights like that against Espinoza on Saturday, he’s going to dominate the Mexican fighter and perhaps stop him.
“He was fighting like they were going to give him the win for just showing up, and then the other guy showed up to fight, and he didn’t expect it,” said Malignaggi about Robeisy in his loss to Gonzalez five years ago in August 2019.
Robeisy mustn’t lose his focus when Espinoza starts landing on him and putting him under pressure like he did in their first fight. He lets his ego take over, wanting to pay Espinoza back, resulting in the type of fight in which the Mexican fighter thrives. Again, Ramirez had huge power, brawling with Espinoza would be way to win, but he’s not a huge puncher and he can’t afford to slug with this guy because he’s capable of wearing him down with volume.
“To your point. How disciplined was he coming into the States and the free world? What is he going to bring here? Apparently, what I’m seeing on social media is that he’s putting in the work right now,” said Algieri about Robeisy.
It looked like Robeisy wasn’t dialed in for the fight with Espinoza, allowing him to control many of the rounds in the second half of the fight. His conditioning wasn’t what it needed to be. Robeisy wasn’t attacking with speedy combinations like he’d been doing in some of the better fights in his five-year career.
