Grant Flores steals the show on Golden Boy card in Commerce

On Thursday night, there was a crowd favorite – 20-year-old junior middleweight Grant Flores. He stole the show. 

Flores, who stopped David Ramirez in the second round of their eight-round scheduled bout at Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, has an action-packed style that connected with the fans in attendance.

Flores of Coachella, California, appears to be the next prospect to emerge from the Golden Boy Promotions developmental system. Fighters such as junior middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jnr, junior welterweight Ryan Garcia, and more recently, lightweight Floyd Schofield all made the jump from prospect to contender with Golden Boy. Flores is still young, but the connection he has with the fans is worth noting. Flores felt like a main event fighter who was, actually, the third fight from the top of the bill. 

“My mindset is to stay focused and to not underestimate my opponent,” Flores, 8-0 (6 KOs) told BoxingScene prior to the fight. “Every fight is a 50-50 fight. I don’t ever say it’s a 70-30 fight or a 100 percent win, because it’s boxing, anything can happen. I always take it as a 50-50 fight. I treat it like it’s a world title fight.”

Veteran broadcaster Beto Duran, who called the fight, took to social media platform X to write the following: “Grant Flores! Remember the name,” after his stellar performance. Flores, who is trained by the Diaz Brothers, Joel and Antonio, has lofty ambitions. 

Ramirez, 32, from Costa Rica, now holds a record of 21-4 (12 KOs). He was Flores’ most experienced opponent to date.  

“At the end of the year, I want to be close to 15-0, or 13-0, somewhere around there,” Flores said. “I’d like to get into the rankings by the end of this year. I’m looking to stay active, hopefully I’ll fight five fights this year.”

Starting in January is an added bonus as he has a full calendar year to achieve that goal. Flores has fought most often in the Coachella Valley at the Fantasy Springs. Flores spoke to his motivations when he walks to the ring as the fans, especially in Coachella Valley, motivate him.

“When I’m making my ring walk and I see everybody, it adds extra fuel to the tank,” Flores said. “I feel like I can’t let these people down and I don’t want to let myself down.”

Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.