Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramirez 2 and Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez 2 will fight in a doubleheader on December 7th in Phoenix.
Salvador Rodriguez reports that WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) and two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) have agreed to a deal to fight in the co-feaure on the card headlined by WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) defending against interim champ Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs)
Navarrete, 29, defeated Valdez by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision last year on August 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. The scores were wide in Navarrete’s favor, with the judges scoring it,
– 119-109
– 118-110
– 116-112
Considering how dominant the outcome of the fight was, it’s unclear why the management for Navarrete has chosen to go in the direction of a rematch with Valdez. A better option would be for Navarrete to try and avenge his recent 12-round split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk on May 18th in San Diego, Califonia.
Navarrete moved up to lightweight, hoping to capture the vacant WBO belt, but was outboxed by the 2012 Olympian Berinchyk. It was one-sided with Navarrete lacking the skills to win against the highly technical Ukrainian.
Former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez lost his title to Rafael Espinoza in an upset 12-round majority decision on December 9, 2023, in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Robeisy knocked the tall 6’1″ Espinoza down with a right hand to the head in the fifth, but was outworked the remainder of the way. In the 12th, Espinoza unleashed a storm of punches to drop a tired-looking Robeisy.
The scores were:
– 114-112 – Espinoza
– 115-111 – Espinoza
– 113-113
“[Rafael] Espinoza and Robeisy Ramirez have an agreement for a rematch for the [WBO] Featherweight Championship. The estimated starting date and venue was December 7 in Phoenix. We’ll see if it holds. Rafael ‘Divino’ Espinoza vs Robeisy ‘Tren’ Ramírez #DivinoTren2 will be on the coestelar of #NavarreteValdez2 on the 7th of December in Phoenix,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X.
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