Jose Ramirez vs Arnold Barboza Preview November 16th, 2024
Former WBO/WBC Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California will be back in the ring this Saturday, November 16th when he takes on unbeaten Arnold Barboza of Long Beach, California. The 12-round WBO Eliminator from Saudi Arabia can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. 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 March, 2022 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Pedraza and then stopped Richard Commey in the 11th round a year later. His last fight, which took place in April, resulted in a wide 12-round unanimous decision over former world champion Rances Barthelemy. Barboza was last in action in April when he downed Sean McComb via a 10-round unanimous decision.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Ramirez vs Barboza Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Arnold Barboza +150
- Jose Ramirez -180
My Pick
The 32-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 this contest with an impressive mark of 29-1 with 18 Ko’s and has boxed 174 rounds since turning pro back in 2012. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and has a decent amount of pop in his fists as 62.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but has gone the distance in seven of his past nine fights. 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 Barthelemy, Commey, 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.
Barboza is also 32 years old and climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 30-0 with 11 Ko’s. He’s boxed 188 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 following a brief amateur career. He measures 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72-inch so is an inch shorter than Ramirez. And when it comes to power, Barboza is below average with a current knockout ratio of just 36.7 per cent and has gone the distance in six of his last seven fights after stopping four of his previous five opponents.
Since turning pro after a short amateur career, Barboza has also won the vacant WBO International and NABF Jr Super Lightweight Titles. He’s beaten Mike Alvarado, Tony Luis, William Silva and Antonio Moran along the way but is probably best known for his slugfest against Alex Saucedo in October, 2020 when he was dropped in the seventh round but came back to win a 10-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO International Super Lightweight Belt.
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. Barboza has an excellent record but hasn’t taken on the same type of stiff opposition that Ramirez has and really lacks the power to keep him at bay all night long. This should be a relatively close contest but I’m expecting Ramirez to come out on top here, likely via a decision or late stoppage.
Ramirez is a bit more aggressive than Barboza and has more power.
Play Ramirez -180 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Arnold Barboza Jr betting • Jose Ramirez betting