In what is the 2012’s inaugural
edition of “ShoBox,” lightweight Luis Ramos steps up in class as he faces
seasoned veteran Ray Beltran at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California
for the NABA USA lightweight title. What this fight really represents for the
23-year-old native of Santa Ana, California, is the transition from young
prospect to legitimate contender. After a productive 2011 that saw Ramos defeat
the likes of Jose Hernandez, Francisco Lorenzo and David Rodela, he now takes
on the toughest foe of his career.
In a similar situation back
in May, Beltran gave then 19-0 Sharif Bogere all he could handle en route to a somewhat
controversial decision loss to the Ugandan hopeful. Beltran is no gimme.
“Y’ know, I don't see it as
the toughest fight because I think all my fights I've been in have been tough,”
he told Maxboxing last week, “but I'm going in there with the mentality that
this is the biggest challenge in my life. So I'm ready and I'm excited to face
[Beltran]. That's what I live for and if I didn't like challenges, I wouldn't
be doing it but I'm excited and I'm looking forward to it.”
Ramos admits, “I don't know
much about him. I just know that he's Manny Pacquiao's sparring partner;
that's about it. Other than that, I don't know much about him. I haven't seen
videos or anything about him. I mean, once I'm in there, I'll figure it out.
That's what I do. Once I'm in there, it's just different and with no headgear-
gloves weigh less- smaller gloves, it's easier to read a fighter.”
Last March, Hernandez took
Ramos to the brink in what was a tightly contested eight-rounder. Ramos won a
majority decision in a fight that some observers believed could have easily
gone the other way. It's all part of the learning process of a nascent
prizefighter.
“I think my team and my
management, Frank Espinoza and Golden Boy, have brought me up pretty good. The
one mistake I made was where I fought Hernandez and I was overweight. But I
think I've done pretty good and my trainer, Hector Lopez, has done a pretty
good job with me throughout my career. So for me, it's just exciting and I
think there's a lot more out there to prove and to earn. But I think for 2011,
we didn't do that bad and we're going to keep progressing each year,” said
Ramos.
Eric Gomez, matchmaker for
Golden Boy Promotions, says, “His manager, Frank Espinoza, who's one of the
best managers in the game- he's been around for awhile; he's got the
experience; he's had some top fighters- he told us, ‘Look, I want this year to
be a big year for [Ramos]. I think midway through the year or three-quarters of
the year, he can be ready for a championship or some sort of world title’- I
agree with him. We've done our job. We've had Luis Ramos for about two years.
We developed him, put him in there with some tough guys and he's passed every
test. So it's that time. It's going to be a breakout year for him and I think
we're going to start with a bang.”
2012 is a pivotal year for
Ramos, beginning with a fight the manager knows is the most evenly-matched contest
he's positioned his client in thus far. “This is the start of a big year for
Luis. This is where he's going to make a statement and right now, he's at that
level where he's now on “ShoBox” and I see good things for him but he's right
there. I think this is the first step, right here on January 6th. This
is the first step for Luis Ramos to get to that next level.”
Like the proverbial
jack-of-all-trades, Ramos is a well-rounded southpaw, who's pretty good at a
lot of things yet not quite exceptional in any particular facet. From this
point forward, he figures to be in long-distance affairs more like his fight
with Hernandez and not quite like his fifth round stoppage of Rodela. “I knew
personally that this was going to be a tough fight for Luis. Coming off that
good win versus Rodela, I knew I had seen a different Ramos. I certainly think
he has the ability to move up,” said Espinoza, who consulted with the fighter
and trainer in taking this assignment. “We have to fight fights like these and
win against fighters like this in order to get to where he wants to go.”
That's the bottom line, if you
want to go anywhere in this business, you're expected to beat gatekeepers like
Beltran.
“It happens with all the top prospects,” explained Gomez. “They come to a stage
in their career where they have to fight these tough fights and they have to
shine and they have to pass the test and I think this is going to be it.''
All this is music to Ramos'
ears. “It's exciting. I never thought I'd be in a situation like this but right
now, that's the direction I want to go. It's going to get tough from here on
out and I believe that I'm moving from a prospect to a contender now. I want to
be one of those top, elite athletes like a [Floyd] Mayweather, [Juan Manuel] Marquez,
all those guys.” If he passes this test on Friday night, Gomez says, “Then we
can start looking at the top ten guys, the guys we can pursue to get him ready,
to get him in a position to possibly fight for a title. Who those guys are, I
don't know yet. We have to wait and see what happens January 6th but
we'll know which way to proceed, if we can be aggressive or step off the pedal
a little bit.”
Ramos understands the
challenge ahead of him.
“I knew that starting my
career, it was going to be pretty easy but then as you keep going and climbing
up the ladder, challenges are going to get tougher. Opponents are going to be a
lot harder,” he said, “but I'm excited. That's what I do and that's what I live
for. I love taking on challenges. It doesn't matter what it is but I'm ready.”
Espinoza, who, in the past,
has guided the likes of Enrique Sanchez, Israel Vazquez, Martin Castillo and
most recently, Abner Mares to championships, knows where he'd like to see Ramos
at the end of this new year: “Right on the verge of winning a world title.”
SHOBOX
Unlike the abomination that
was last week’s edition of “ShoBox,” this week’s version is much more
representative of what this franchise is all about. Not only does it have an
attractive main event, it has an opening bout pitting a pair of unbeaten lightweights
in 21-year old Michael “The Artist” Perez, 15-0-1 (9), and 22-year-old Omar
Figueroa, 13-0-1 (10), against each other.
“We want to set the tone for
the year. We want to make good fights,” said Gomez of their 2012 debuts. “Look,
I wish we could make all the fights but there's always circumstances. They come
up behind every fighter, every fight, every manager. But with this fight here,
both guys want to make a statement. Both guys wanted a big fight. They wanted
to be showcases. They want to be on “ShoBox” and this is setting the tone. The
loser is not necessarily going to be in a bad position if he loses in a good
fight. I just think it's the right time, the right place, the right TV channel
for them to fight each other.”
Usually, fighters and their
managers want it both ways, be on this platform but against soft opposition.
According to Gomez, “With these guys, it was different. We came to them with
this possibility and, look, we represent so many fighters and a lot of these
fighters we represent- they want to fight each other. They don't care that
they're both with Golden Boy. They don't care they're with so-and-so manager.
What they care about is that they have something or that fighting them means
something.
“And that's what happened in this case. That boxing's an individual sport, it
doesn't matter if you're with the same promoter or not. These guys wanted to
fight each other and they've been keeping tabs on each other and they've been
willing to fight any of the top guys. We have top prospects and it was just a
perfect time for them to fight each other.”
BCS FLURRIES
I'm trying to gather more
info but it looks like the “Solo Boxeo” series will no longer be exclusive to
Golden Boy Promotions and could be moving off its traditional Friday night slot
and to a new network...Speaking of which, according to the Maxboxing schedule (put
together expertly by our very own Marty Mulcahey), Telefutura has a card this
Saturday night from Hollywood, Florida featuring Ed Paredes versus Michael
Lozada...The February 24th edition of “Friday Night Fights” which
has a main event of JC Burgos-Cristobal Cruz could be staged at the Galen
Center at USC. Fight on!...Loved the Duck Vader helmets of Oregon in the Rose
Bowl...Justin Blackmon of Okie State is Baby T.O. The Rams need to draft him
and get Sam Bradford some help...I can't believe Norv Turner got another
reprieve in San Diego but I do agree with the Eagles bringing back Andy Reid...
.
