Jose Ramirez determined to prove oddsmakers wrong against Josh Taylor

It’s not often you see an undefeated former Olympian with two world titles around his waist enter a boxing bout as a sizeable underdog.

But that is exactly what will happen when WBC and WBO junior welterweight champion Jose ‘Jaguar’ Ramirez 26-0 (17) steps through the ropes and into the ring at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada to lock horns with WBA and IBF counterpart Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 17-0 (13) on Saturday night.

Bookmakers have installed Taylor as a -286 favorite against Ramirez, who is paying +204 head-to-head. And there is some logic behind those odds.

Taylor made his bones by winning the second series of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) in 2019. He claimed the IBF belt of Ivan Baranchyk 20-2 (13) by clear-cut unanimous decision in May of that year and toppled previously undefeated WBA champion Regis Prograis 26-1 (22) by majority decision in the grand final in October to lift the coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy.

During the same year Ramirez made the first defense of his WBC strap with a majority decision win over tricky southpaw Jose Zepeda 33-2 (26) in February before knocking out then-unbeaten WBO boss Maurice Hooker 27-2-3 (18) in six rounds in July.

On paper, there wasn’t much to split their achievements. But it was Taylor who received most of the plaudits from pundits and fans due to the high-profile nature of the WBSS.

“I know it doesn’t matter what people think,” London Olympian Ramirez said in the Top Rank documentary Blood, Sweat and Tears.

“I know it doesn’t matter where people rank me in the top pound-for-pound lists. But I do think about why people don’t really give me the credit I deserve when I’ve made it this far.

“When people have a little doubt, I continue winning. When people say ‘We’ll see how he does’, I continue winning. So everything I have, I have earned it the right way. The hard way. By my actions, by my fists.”

It is precisely this blue-collar work ethic that impresses coach Robert Garcia so much.

“One thing that Jose has over almost everybody in boxing – and not only the guys he has fought – is that he has that he has that little bit extra to give,” the experienced trainer explained.  

“If it’s power that he needs, he’s going to find that little extra way to give that power. If it’s a 12 round fight and he’s going through a war, he’s going to find that conditioning and that push to dominate his opponent. If it’s heart, he’s going to beat his opponent because of heart.

“There are fighters out there who might be more talented than him but his mind, his heart, his conditioning is always going to be above that of his opponent.”

Taylor has fought just two boxers of Mexican descent in the past, Alfonso Olvera in his eighth pro fight and washed former IBF lightweight titleholder Miguel Vazquez in his 11th outing. Neither of them combine the skillset and conditioning of Ramirez, who at 28 is in his physical prime.

“On paper this could be the most challenging fight of my career. You’ve have to be physically prepared, so I’m getting ready for that,” said Ramirez, who grew up in Avenal, California and still resides in the farming community.

“When I look at Mexican fighters, I see two things. One is that they are always in good shape. They will fight from the opening bell to the last bell. And they hit to the body very hard.

“So to beat a Mexican fighter you have to not just be prepared with your conditioning, but you also have to be prepared mentally to know that you will most likely be in deep waters when you face a Mexican warrior.”

Ramirez will be facing a more naturally athletic and technically proficient boxer in Taylor. The 30-year-old southpaw, who represented Scotland as a lightweight at the 2012 London Olympics, is a skilled switch-hitter who is equally adept at fighting at range as he is in close. He uses angles effectively and throws with power and accuracy to both the body and head.

But fights at this level are won just as much on will as they are on skill.

“Taylor has done well in his previous fights because the guys he has fought have given him the distance and control. But Josh has never faced Jose Ramirez,” said Ramirez, who is expected to plough forward, bull Taylor to the ropes and try to work him over on the inside.

“I can’t say what is going to work for me until it happens. And he cannot say or think what he thinks is going to work for him. But at the end of the day with this fight it’s the mental part of the game that is going to make us the winner.

“My goal is to put Taylor in a position he has never been in, to test him to the limits that he’s never been before.

“Personal opinions from the professionals, from the fans, it don’t matter no more. It’s not going to help me and it’s not going to help him.

“I’m not surprised I have made it this far. I knew where my abilities were going to take me. I just know the fighter I am and to my eyes, I’m not supposed to lose this fight to Josh Taylor.”  

The key to victory, according to Ramirez, is mind over matter.

“I think the mental part if going to be the biggest part of this fight because we are both very skilful,” he said. “I’m not flashy, I’m not dramatic. I’m focused, I move forward and I don’t let nothing get to me.”

Garcia added: “I’m confident that if the fight is difficult and so close, like a 50-50 fight, he’s always going to have that positive mentality that is going to help him win any fight.”

“I have always trained like the underdog, like this is the biggest fight of my career,” Ramirez continued.

“I don’t take training camp lightly. I don’t take one fighter lightly. I always train with that mentality that I want to do this for myself and my family. That alone keeps me very, very motivated.

“After every win I don’t feel surprised. I feel like that is what I was supposed to do.”

For Ramirez, becoming the first Mexican-American to unify all four major sanctioning body titles will be made that much sweeter by one thing.

“I like to continue winning,” Ramirez said. “To prove people wrong, that’s just the extra, the bonus.”

Oddsmakers and fans be damned.