Robeisy Ramirez is determined to avenge his loss and regain the WBO featherweight title when he faces Rafael Espinoza in a rematch on Saturday.
Should Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) beat Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs), he’d be sitting pretty and waiting as a potential opponent to Naoya Inoue if the undisputed junior featherweight champion decides to move up to 126 pounds in 2025.
Inoue has already defended his undisputed 122-pound crown against Luis Nery and TJ Doheny this year and will try to do so a third time against Sam Goodman on December 24.
Having already cleaned out the division’s toughest dance partners, there is not much left for the “The Monster” to deal with.
If you ask Ramirez, however, he advises the pound-for-pound top star Inoue and Top Rank stablemate to be cautious in his quest to become a five-division crown holder.
“I have no problem with the Inoue fight if he moves up and tries to fight me,” Ramirez told BoxingScene. “I’d like to stay at 126 pounds. I have no problem making the weight. Of course, we’re going to reclaim the title and then unify, and then become undisputed. I’m willing to be in big fights. If he moves up and picks me, we’ll be ready to fight him in addition to everyone else in the division.
“I saw Inoue in person. He’s a great fighter and a legend. But my impression is that he is small for 126 pounds, and I’m not even so big for my division. Neither would he. He’s kind of small to be moving up, and at some point, you hit your limits. There is only one Manny Pacquiao. No matter how good your boxing is, at some point the weight becomes too much, and the power from the guys in the divisions above you becomes too much. My boxing is strong and I feel that I can end Inoue’s history.”
Ramirez, a 2012 and 2016 Olympics gold medalist for Cuba, also has aspirations of becoming a champion at 130 and 135 pounds before he calls it a career.
“It would add more to my history and story to become a three-division champion,” he said.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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