Fight night in Fresno: Former world champion Jose Ramirez returns, defeats Jose Pedraza

It was back to friendly Fresno for hometown, Central Valley hero Jose Ramirez this past Friday night as the former unified junior welterweight world champion was taking on former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza in the 12-round main event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Ramirez vs. Pedraza was a great night of boxing, on a strong, Top Rank Boxing show that included a stacked undercard featuring featherweight contender Joet Gonzalez (24-2, 14 KO’s) against Jeo Santisima (21-3, 18 KO’s) in a 10-rounder, the 6-round heavyweight professional debut of U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr., 21-year old Gabriel Flores Jr. (20-1, 7 KO’s) looking to rebound from his first loss in a 10-round junior lightweight matchup against Abraham Montoya (20-2-1, 14 KOs), junior lightweight Karlos Balderas (11-1, 10 KOs) in an 8-rounder, lightweight prospect Charlie Sheehy (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-rounder, 6’9 heavyweight Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (2-0, 2 KOs) in a 4-rounder, and middleweight Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (5-0, 2 KOs) who was looking to stay undefeated in a 6-rounder. While the pre-main festivities were good, it was the massively popular Ramirez that the hometown faithful were there to see.

Ramirez (27-1, 17 KO’s), who has a massive following in California’s Central Valley, came into the fight looking to get a win to put himself back in title contention. He won the WBC super lightweight title back in 2018 and made 3 impressive title defences against Jose Zepeda, Maurice Hooker (adding the WBO belt) and Viktor Postol before losing it in a close, unification fight with Scotland’s Josh Taylor for all the straps.

For Pedraza (29-4-14 KO’s), the former IBF super featherweight and WBO lightweight champion, he knew a win over Ramirez would most certainly slot him into a title shot. He had won 3 in a row since a 2019 loss to Jose Zepeda.

Main Event

After an exciting undercard, the much-anticipated main event got underway with both fighters knowing a win would certainly put them in a good spot to get a title shot. A loss? A huge setback. It was the classic slick boxer against the aggressive pressure brawler.

In the WBC super lightweight eliminator, main event between former world champions, world ranked Jose Ramirez won a UD 12 over fellow-rated contender Jose “Sniper” Pedraza. Hometown favorite Ramirez did what he does, he pressed the action, nothing fancy, just pressure and tenacity for all 12 rounds.

Pedraza’s plan was to try and out-slick Ramirez, and he was somewhat shifty through the first half of the fight. However, the continual pressure from Ramirez had Pedraza in more of a defensive posture through much of the fight. Ramirez looked good and has lined himself up for any of the 4 belts that are out there while Pedraza may have officially moved into gate-keeper status.

Scores were 116-112 3x for Ramirez.

In a post-fight interview, the victorious Ramirez stated, “Jose Pedraza is a smart, experienced fighter. He was going to find a way to survive and put up a fight. He was there boxing towards the end of the fight. My hat’s off to him and his team. He was well-prepared. It was a great fight. I got to see where I am right now”, he said. “I went out there and just boxed, had fun in there. I played it smart, used my jab, and I think I won more than eight rounds."

Asked who he’d like next?

“Anybody at 140. I’m going to go back, work and stay focused and stay active. That’s one thing that’s affected me these last couple of years. I’ve trained so many times for a little bit of fights. My inactivity, my discouragement throughout training camps, it really took a big toll on me. I’m ready to stay active and stay motivated. There’s a lot of great fighters coming up to 140. There’s a lot of really good fighters at 140 right now," he said.

Under Card

Heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. KO 2 Allen Melson (6-3, 3 KO’s). 

Featherweight Joet Gonzalez (25-2, 15 KO’s) TKO 9 over Jeo Santisima (21-4, 18 KO’s)

Jr. lightweight Gabriel Flores Jr. (21-1, 7 KO’s) UD 10 Abraham Montoya (20-3-1, 14 KO’s)

Lightweight Hector Tanajara Jr. (19-1-1, 5 KO’s) D8 Miguel Contreras (11-1-1, 6 KO’s)

Junior lightweight Karlos Balderas (12-1, 11 KO’s) TKO 2 Aelio Mesquita (20-7-1, 18 KO’s)

Middleweight Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (6-0, 2 KO’s) UD 6 Donte Stubbs (6-4, 2 KOs) over six rounds.

Lightweight Charlie Sheehy (2-0, 2 KO’s) TKO 1 Johnny Bernal (2-1, 2 KOs)

Heavyweight Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (3-0, 3 KO’s) KO 2 knocked out Brandon Hughes (2-1, 2 KOs)