Jose Ramirez is preparing to take on Rances Barthelemy on April 27th in Fresno, California. The two fighters will be competing in a co-feature alongside Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Thomas Dulorme.
Ramirez is coming into this bout with a career record of 28-1 with 18 knockouts. ESPN had him ranked as the seventh best boxer in the 140-pound division. This is going to be the first fight that he’s taken after departing with his promoter, Top Rank. Ramirez has a lot of experience, making four successful title defenses. He took the first loss of his career in May 2021 when he lost to Josh Taylor via a decision.
Since then, he’s fought two more times and won them both. What makes this special for Ramirez is the location. He’s competing in his native Fresno for the 11th time in his career, and it’s also where he’s fought in his last two bouts. This seems to be his preferred location, and it could be a bad sign for his challenger.
Barthelemy Presents Intriguing Matchup For Ramirez
As for his upcoming opponent, Barthelemy, he’s picked up a record of 30-2-1 with 15 knockouts of his own. He’s a former two-division champion at 37-years-old but hasn’t competed in a title fight since 2018 when he lost to Kiryl Relikh.
When he was competing in title fights, we saw him do so in both the 130 and the 135-pound divisions. However, we haven’t seen him take center stage in a fight since last May, beating Omar Juarez in a majority-decision. The fight before that came in 2022, one that saw him get knocked out by Gary Antuanne Russell in July.
Both of these accomplished fighters are former division champions with title fight experience. There’s a lot of experience stepping into that ring, and there’s no question that this has the potential to be a great fight.
