Jose Ramirez vs Richard Commey Preview March 25th, 2023
Former WBO/WBC Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California will be back in the ring this Saturday, March 25th when he takes on former IBF Lightweight Champion Richard Commey of Accra, Ghana. The 12-round super lightweight fight from Fresno, California can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Action and those in Canada can see it on TSN 3. Ramirez lost his belts and the first fight of his pro career in May, 2021 when he dropped a close unanimous decision to Josh Taylor after being dropped in rounds six and seven. He bounced back in his last outing in March, 2022 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Pedraza. Commey also fought Pedraza in his last contest which ended in a 10-round draw in August.
Ramirez vs Commey Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Richard Commey +600
- Jose Ramirez -1000
My Pick
The 30-year-old Ramirez won the vacant WBC Super Lightweight Crown with a unanimous decision over Amir Imam in March, 2018 and defended it for the first time with a unanimous decision over Antonio Orozco before beating Jose Zepeda by majority decision and taking down Maurice Hooker in six to add the WBO title. He then met Viktor Postol in 2020 and took a majority decision. Ramirez attempted to unify the belts against Josh Taylor who held the WBA and IBF versions and lost a close 114-112 decision on all three scorecards despite being dropped twice.
Ramirez enters the contest with an impressive mark of 27-1 with 17 Ko’s and has boxed 151 rounds since turning pro back in 2012. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and has quite a bit of pop in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 60.7 per cent. However, he’s gone the distance in his last three fights and in the last six of seven. Ramirez enjoyed a fine amateur career and represented the USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England where he went 1-1.
He also faced Vasyl Lomachenko at the 2011 World Championships in Azerbaijan and was beaten 16-9 on points. Since turning pro Ramirez has also won the NABF Junior Welterweight Title as well as a couple of other regional belts as well as his world championship. As well as beating Postol, Hooker and Zepeda, Ramirez has also defeated Antonio Orozco, Amir Imam, Mike Reed, Issouf Kinda, Johnny Garcia, Jake Giuriceo, Robert Frankel, Ryusei Yoshida and Tomas Mendez.
Commey is now 36 years old and fights out of New York City. He decided to make a comeback after a devastating second-round knockout loss at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in December 2019. He fought again in February, 2021 and stopped Jackson Marinez in six rounds but was then derailed by Vasyl Lomachenko in December, 2021 when he was dropped in the seventh round and lost a 12-round unanimous decision. He’s winless in his last two fights with that defeat and the draw to Pedraza the last time out. This leaves Commey at 30-4-1 with 27 Ko’s.
Commey won the vacant IBF Lightweight Title with a second-round stoppage over Isa Chaniev in February, 2019 then stopped Ray Beltran in the eighth round in his first defence in June. He won the title in his second shot at it as he fought Robert Easter for the vacant belt in 2016 and dropped him in the eighth round but lost a split decision. His other career loss came three months later when he dropped another split decision, this time to Denis Shafikov. Commey turned pro in 2011 and has boxed 201 rounds since.
He’ obviously got some power as 27 of his 30 wins have been by stoppage and his current knockout ratio is an impressive 77.1 per cent but has gone the distance in his last two fights. Commey is 5-feet-8-inches tall with 71-inch reach which means he gives up two inches in height and an inch in reach to Ramirez. Commey’s biggest career wins have been against the likes of Chaniev, Beltran, Bilal Mohammad, Gary Buckland and Yardley Cruz. Since turning pro, he has also won the Ghanaian, IBF Continental Africa, African Boxing Union, Commonwealth, IBF Inter-Continental, and WBC International Silver Lightweight Titles.
Prediction…
Ramirez usually finds a way to win and it sometimes appears he fights to the level of his opposition. He struggled somewhat against Taylor, Zepeda and Postol but looked sensational against Hooker. Commey’s getting up there in age and is trying to snap a two-fight winless skid. He can be a handful for anybody due to his power and skills but I’m expecting Ramirez to come out on top here.
Ramirez is a bit more naturally aggressive than Commey but will need a good chin.
Play Ramirez -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jose Ramirez betting • Richard Commey betting