Jose Ramirez has let it be known that not just is he eyeing Regis Prograis, the current WBC junior welterweight champion, but Ramirez is a very interested observer for the upcoming Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez a bout that has been agreed to for June 10th, which has not been formally announced but is very likely to end up in New York City, New York.
Taylor, the former undisputed world champion of the junior welterweight division, now only holds the WBO junior welterweight title, as Taylor has seen the other titles stripped from him due to inactivity, as his very hard road to the top of the sport seems to be taking a toll on him. This might be best seen by Taylor withdrawing from his scheduled fight with Jack Catterall on January 21st of this year with a torn plantar fascia. That bout would not get rescheduled as Catterall, a man who lost a split decision to Taylor but won the hearts of the fans in the process will not get the rematch that Catterall wanted over a year for.
Ramirez lost a four-belt undisputed unification fight to Josh Taylor in 2021, in a fight that would have taken Ramirez from a national boxing attraction to the world level of the sport. The fight was for immortality, and more than likely the four-belt undisputed crown will never be there for Ramirez again. It is clear that Ramirez, who lost a close decision to Taylor, largely based upon getting knocked down as Taylor was able to take advantage of the polite nature of Ramirez on the inside, as Taylor was punching off the break, which proved the edge in the fight.”
“It’s a fifty-fifty fight, brother,” said Jose Ramirez, when asked who he would favor in a Taylor vs. Teofimo fight. “Best wishes to both of them.”
Teofimo Lopez, on the other hand, attended a lot of Jose Ramirez’s fights during the ascension of the star that is Teofimo Lopez. Lopez has battled through a rough couple of years in-and-out of the ring. Lopez defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko to become the four-belt undisputed world champion at lightweight, only to lose his next fight to George Kambosos Jnr., in one of the biggest upsets of 2021. Lopez returned twice in 2022, at his new weight class, neither of which looked like the old power-punching Teofimo Lopez at the lightweight division.
“[the winner of Josh Taylor versus Teofimo Lopez] is definitely the big target [in the division] for me,” said Jose Ramirez to Sean Zittel of FightHype during a fight week interview. “[besides] being an in-house fight [all three fighters share the same promoter Top Rank Inc.], it would feel good to get back in the ring with [Josh] Taylor and get that revenge.