The slow clap from Hoosiers, where coach Norman Dale inspires his team to believe in something bigger, could be the mantra for junior bantamweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez as he prepares for his next fight on December 14 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Ramirez draws strength from the rare sense of unity he finds with his team at Brickhouse Boxing – a camaraderie often absent in the solitary world of professional boxing.
Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) will face unbeaten junior bantamweight prospect Ephraim Bui (10-0, 8 KOs) on the undercard of Alexis Rocha’s clash with Raul Curiel on DAZN.
Ramirez often draws inspiration from his football days, where the camaraderie of locker room moments shaped him more than any touchdown.
“The best part wasn’t the championships or the wins,” said the 28-year-old Ramirez. “It was the locker room – those moments hyping each other up, feeding off that energy. Boxing doesn’t really have that. It’s a lonely sport.
“I’ve been around the block [at] many different gyms, and they don’t carry that energy of, like, being one team, one goal, one mission, that unity. We still look out for each other. We still train as a team. We still work out together. And that’s the best part about this situation.”
Even in the wake of his first defeat, a unanimous decision loss to David Jimenez in April, Ramirez never stopped going to the gym, working to grow and refine his craft.
“I learned a lot in that fight,” he said. “Even on my worst night, I was competitive.”
Ramirez found clarity: Despite starting boxing at 20, he believes he belongs at the top of the junior bantamweight division.
Trainer Julian Chua has seen a new version of Ramirez emerge since his first professional loss.
“Scrappy’s sharper than I’ve ever seen him,” Chua said. “If he brings even 70% of what he’s shown in camp, Bui won’t make it the distance.”
Chua credited Ramirez’s evolution to lessons learned from defeat, particularly in how he approaches preparation.
“Sometimes you have fighters you need to push, and sometimes you have fighters you need to slow down,” Chua said. “Bobby Benton actually taught me that. It’s not just about working hard – it’s about being smart and listening to your body. Scrappy embraced that this camp, and he’s coming back strong, I promise.”
Bui, 25, of Sugar Land, Texas, is a heavy-handed opponent coming off a unanimous decision win in September. Ramirez views this challenge as a calculated step toward his ultimate goal.
“This chapter is called the rise to the championship,” Ramirez said. “I’m taking the right fights, not the easy ones. Every move I make is with purpose. This fight is going to prep me for a world title.”
Ramirez also finds motivation training alongside Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, the two-division and current unified cruiserweight titleholder who rebounded from his own loss to Dmitry Bivol. Watching his teammate rebuild reminded Ramirez of the resilience needed to succeed.
“A loss doesn’t determine my future,” Ramirez said. “I’ve grown from it, and I’ll keep pushing forward. That mindset has gotten me here, and it’s what will take me to the top.”
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