Ramirez Focused on Benitez After Putting ‘Family Issues’ to One Side

Robeisy Ramírez enters Saturday’s fight with Brandon Leon Benitez free of fearing his father’s death.

The Cuban, 30, and Benitez fight at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach on the occasion of his first fight since December, when he lost, via majority decision, the WBO featherweight title to Rafael Espinoza. 

Benitez, 26, is, like Espinoza, of Mexico, but he represents a less heralded opponent, after perhaps the most difficult period of Ramirez’s career.

The defeat was not only the most significant Ramirez has experienced – he lost over four rounds to Adan Gonzales via split decision on his professional debut, and earned a unanimous decision over him four fights later; Espinoza has also since been linked to a lucrative fight with Naoya Inoue – it came while he was crippled by concerns surrounding his father’s health.

While he has prepared for Benitez, Ramirez has had no such fears to contend with, but it was when he was attempting to focus on Espinoza – Ramirez was the favourite that night – that his father’s condition and the distance to him in Cuba undermined him and, he believes, ultimately contributed to his second defeat.

“It’s not really a secret,” he said. “My father was sick, leading up to my fight in December, and for political reasons I couldn’t go see him or help him in Cuba, so my mind wasn’t really focused on the fight, and I was just thinking the worst and maybe that he was going to pass or [I] wasn’t going to be able to see him one last time. That weighed heavy on me leading up to the fight, and that’s why I wasn’t myself.

“I wasn’t really focused on the fight, and I wasn’t centred on what I had to do. During my training camp, preparing for the fight, I was going through a tough time personally, and also with family, so I didn’t have my mind centred on the fight. Also, having issues with my family, and not having support from my family, didn’t let the training camp develop the way I wanted to.

“The break [before accepting the Benitez fight] was necessary. My training camp [for Espinoza] was very rough – physically and mentally – so it was necessary for me to take a break, but thanks to God, we’re back.”

Ramirez, who lives in Miami until he joins his trainer Ismael Salas in Las Vegas to prepare for fights, was asked how he had spent the time since the defeat by Espinoza, who earlier in June stopped Sergio Chirino Sanchez, and he responded: “I tend to take real breaks between fights. When I’m not in training camp I’m not really thinking about boxing. I just focus on day-to-day things. Once I’m back in camp, that’s when I focus on boxing again.

“I spent time with my family; time with my wife; time with my daughters, and stayed home [in Miami]. It was necessary to take a break and spend time with my family – to be ready for what’s next.

“Thanks to God, everything is well right now. We made the effort – the situation is not great, and we made the effort to send to Cuba the medication and everything that [my father] needed. My wife was able to get into the country; was able to travel and take all the medications to him, and thanks to God he’s doing well right now.”