- Jose Ramirez is the heavy favorite at -600.
- Richard Commey is the overwhelming underdog at +450.
A new super lightweight contender will emerge this Saturday, March 25, inside the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California, as former WBC and WBO Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez (27-1) faces former IBF World Lightweight Champion Richard Commey (30-4-1) in an exciting clash of top class boxers.
Fight week in Fresno 🔥📍#RamirezCommey | MAR 25 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/pZhWl2QXFp
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 20, 2023
Being the former WBC and WBO title holder has made Ramirez the heavy favorite in boxing odds at -600 against the division’s newcomer Commey (+450), who takes the overwhelming underdog role at the BetMGM online sportsbook . Ramirez is also coming off a bounce-back victory, while Commey suffered a loss and a split draw in his two previous fights.
Jose Ramirez Recent Fight Result
Jose Ramirez made his professional debut in December 2012 and finished Corey Siegwarth in the opening round of their bout. After that, he went on to win 10 consecutive bouts, including seven stoppages. These wins and immaculate run was the main ingredient in making a name in the sport, thus earning him the opportunity to win titles.
In October 2014, the Avenal, California native won his inaugural boxing title by beating David Rodela via first-round knockout to obtain the vacant NABF Junior Welterweight Title. Following this championship triumph, Ramirez extended his unbeaten record by beating Antonio Arellano, Robert Franckel, Ryusei Yoshida, Johnny Garcia, Manuel Perez, Thomas Mendez, Issouf Kinda, Jake Giuriceo and Mike Reed.
These victories allowed Ramirez to extend his unbeaten streak to 21 and defend his NABF Junior Welterweight Title and secure the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Title. After all this success, Ramirez finally got his first opportunity to win a major title in March 2018 when he fought Amir Imam for the vacant WBC World Super Lightweight Title.
Ramirez outpointed Imam and unanimously beat him to win his first major boxing title officially. He instantly defended that title against Antonio Orozco (unanimous decision win) and Jose Zepeda (majority decision win) before adding the WBO World Super Lightweight Title to his collection by defeating Maurice Hooker in July 2019 via sixth-round TKO.
“Jaguar” continued his reign as the WBC and WBO champion by fending off the challenge of Viktor Postol in August 2020 with a majority decision win. This victory led Ramirez to a title unification bout with Josh Taylor in May 2021. Unfortunately, he fell short of winning all the belts in the division after yielding a unanimous decision loss which was also his first career setback.
In his most recent fight, Ramirez masterfully beat Jose Pedraza on March 4, to get back in the winning column. A win and an excellent performance are needed by Ramirez this weekend against Richard Commey if he wants to spring back to title contention and have another crack at the title.
Richard Commey Recent Fight Result
Richard Commey’s boxing career dates back to February 2011 when he TKO’ed Baba Nsor in the second round of his professional debut. He reigned terror in his home country in Ghana, where he demolished every opponent in front of him by knocking ten opponents on his way to capture the Ghana Boxing Authority Lightweight Title in December 2011.
Commey continued this incredible run and tallied 13 more successive wins, including 11 TKO/KO wins to collect the IBF Continental Africa Lightweight Title, African Boxing Union Lightweight Title, Commonwealth Boxing Council Lightweight Title and the IBF Inter-Continental Lightweight Title. This 24-fight immaculate stretch became his stepping stone to fight for a major world title.
In September 2016, Commey was pitted against fellow undefeated boxer Robert Easter Jr. for the vacant IBF World Lightweight Title, but Easter Jr. defeated “RC” via a close split decision result which sustained Commey’s first professional loss. Three months after this heart-breaking defeat to Easter Jr., the now Bronx, New York resident received another split decision loss to Denis Shafikov.
These setbacks didn’t deter Commey from pursuing his dream of becoming a world champion as he won the vacant WBC International Silver Lightweight Title in March 2017. He won two more bouts over Alejandro Luna (sixth-round TKO in March 2018) and Yardley Cruz (second-round TKO in August 2018) before fighting Isa Chaniev for the once again vacant IBF World Lightweight Title in February 2019.
Commey seized the second opportunity given to him by beating Chaniev via second-round TKO. Four months later, he instantly defended the title against Raymundo Beltran by knocking him out in the eighth round. In his second title defense, however, Commey was dethroned by Teofimo Lopez after suffering a second-round TKO in December 2019.
The 36-year-old had a 14-month hiatus from boxing after that loss to Lopez and returned to action in February 2021 when he knocked out Jackson Marinez in six rounds. Commey’s last two fights ended in unfortunate results as he was unanimously defeated by Vasiliy Lomachenko and received a split draw decision with Jose Pedreza in August 2022.
Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey: Tale of the Tape
| Jose Ramirez | Richard Commey | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 30 | 36 |
| Height | 5'10" | 5'9" |
| Reach | 72.4 inches | 69.7 inches |
| Record | 27-1 | 30-4-1 |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| TKO/KO Percentage | 63% | 90% |
Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey: Fight Analysis
The tale of the tape gives Ramirez almost every advantage on paper, with him being younger by six years, taller by one inch, having a 2.7 -inch longer reach, and having a better record of only sustaining one loss. The only better number that Commey has over Ramirez is the TKO/KO percentage of 90% compared to the latter’s 63%.
Both fighters pack dynamite power in their hands, evident in their high finishing percentage. The speed and technical edge still go to Ramirez as he sets up his signature left hook power punch with stiff jabs to close the distance and fire combinations. When he smells blood, he goes all out on the power left hooks that target his opponent’s head and body.
Meanwhile, Commey rarely throws jabs on his opponents and instead relies more on his sheer power, particularly his three-punch combinations, which usually daze and put his opposition on jelly legs. Once his foe backpedals, “RC” will immediately move forward to pour on more power punches.
However, as mentioned earlier, Ramirez is the more technical boxer among the two, and Commey has a bad history fighting with technical and top-caliber fighters, as seen in his losses to Teofimo Lopez, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jose Pedraza. Ramirez can fully utilize his stiff jabs to keep Commey at bay and, eventually, set up his patented combinations and left hook to get the dub.
Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey: Date and Start Time
March 25, 2023, 7:00 p.m. PST
March 25, 2023, 9:00 p.m. CST
March 25, 2023, 10 p.m. EST
Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey: Fight Prediction
Official Prediction: Late TKO/KO victory for Jose Ramirez.
See the entire Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey odds and wagers here.
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