By: Hans Themistode
Jose Ramirez hangs his head in dismay after his almost unanimous decision defeat to Josh Taylor in mid-2021.
Despite his determination, Ramirez was unable to put up with his slick opponent at night and ended up hitting the deck on two separate occasions. The result was an unbelievably stunned Ramirez when Taylor stripped him of his 140-pound WBC and WBO world championship titles to become the division’s undisputed champion.
Throughout the year, Ramirez brooded in grief. With the help of head coach Robert Garcia, however, Ramirez stood up for himself with the campaign. To kick off his 2022 campaign, Ramirez returned to the winners circle following a win over former multi-division player, Jose Pedraza.
As Ramirez regained that sense of victory, Garcia briefly reflected on Ramirez’s loss to Taylor, while praising his boxer’s ability to hit back.
“Jose is very proud. He feels embarrassed,” Garcia said in an interview with ESNEWS. “But he came back well.”
The next step for Ramirez in his climb back up the 140-pound ladder could be his chance to win the world title. Although all roads to the championship belong to Taylor, the undisputed tennis prominence recently revealed that he will give up his ultralight throne and take the seven-pound walk towards north, where he will compete as an official weightlifter.
In addition to a world championship chance, Garcia is intrigued by a possible clash with former unified 135-pound champion, Teofimo Lopez. The flamboyant Lopez officially ended his time at 135 pounds following his surprising decisive defeat to George Kambosos Jr. by the end of 2021.
In an effort to optimize their results, both Lopez and his father, Teofimo Lopez Sr., turned their attention to the ultralight division. With the Lopez team hoping to aggregate world titles at their new home, a confrontation with Ramirez could be on the horizon.
If at any point Ramirez gets a chance to face Lopez, Garcia admits he would welcome that challenge with open arms.
“I liked that fight.”
