The loss that taught John Ramirez he has what it takes to be world champion

Junior bantamweight John Ramirez is working tirelessly to come back stronger from his only career loss to Fernando David Jimenez last June.

Los Angeles’ Ramirez, 28, lost a 12-round unanimous decision to 32-year-old Jimenez of Costa Rica for the vacant WBA junior bantamweight championship. Ramirez, 13-1 (9 KOs), is looking to return to the ring with a new outlook in his quest to become a champion in the future.

“I learned I have what it takes to be world champion,” Ramirez said. “I took the loss and, instead of complaining, right after that fight I started to think about what had happened and why. I have the skills and I’m capable of being world champion, but I fought his (Jimenez) fight. In my next fight, I won’t be fighting on emotion, I’ll be using my brain. I need to use my brain, not my heart. 

“It was a good fight and entertaining, but it wasn’t my night. Personally, I gained confidence, as crazy as that may sound in a loss. I know I belong here.”

Ramirez admitted he needs time to master his craft and was willing to continue training harder to achieve that. The Los Angeles native revealed that he has been studying old-school fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns to fine-tune his skills in the ring.

“No drastic changes in my training, though. I’m working on throwing more counters. I’m a big 115-pounder who just walked down my opponent. I’m going to use my jab – I have a good one – and my feet instead of sitting in the pocket and catching everything.

“It’s all part of the process. I’m not happy the loss happened. I lost my first world title fight and in my second I’ll be the winner and show everybody the type of character I have as a man. I’ll take the next opportunity to show my growth”

According to Ramirez, the plan is for him to have two more fights – hopefully one by the end of the year – before he opts for a rematch with Jimenez.

“I want a rematch with this guy (Jimenez), partly because he has the belt, but to prove to myself I can beat him. He did everything we saw on film: he came forward and didn’t tire. No surprises. I need to fight my fight, not his, to prove myself to the world. “I’ve reflected on that fight, and I was capable of beating him. He has a big amateur pedigree, so it was a confidence builder for me in defeat.”

“I’m not running away from this situation, and I’ll handle it the next time I fight for the world title. I can’t blame anybody for what happened, because once I step into the ring, it’s just me and my opponent. I screwed up but the next world title shot I’ll get it right.”